Second Chance (An Itachi Uchiha Love Story)
by Butterfly553
Summary: Adryn is a product of Orochimaru and was once living in the Uchiha Compound. She fell in love with Itachi at a young age and now that he's been brought back to life 5 years after the 4th Great Ninja War, how will everything go? With Itachi's second chance, how will everything end?
1. Where Everything Begins

Things in the world were going great in the ninja world. Peace was finally achieved. It was already 5 years since the 4th Great Ninja War ended. So things were as peaceful as they possibly could be. Until one day, the Akatsuki members began to awaken in newly given bodies. It wasn't like Kabuto's reanimation jutsu at all. They were just back to life in new bodies. They were just as confused as the members of society were. Instantly, they were taken away and put on an island in the ocean near the Land of Water under the watch of all the Kage and their closest ninja. That is where this story starts.

"So you mean to tell me, that I have to babysit a bunch of dead people brought back to life?" I asked Lady Mizukage, Mei. She just smiled at me and nodded her head.

"Yes, I have chosen you, my left-hand woman, to watch over them with the other chosen ones." Lady Mizukage responded.

"Why can't Chojuro do it?" I asked the question, but I knew the answer. He wasn't as spineless as he once was, but he was still pretty much a pushover at times. "Never mind. I got it. I'll watch over them, but I won't like it!" I stormed off away with Chojuro yelling after me.

"Good luck, Adryn!" I didn't turn around or anything, just waved him off. I got along with him quite well, I was just pouting right now. I couldn't help but wonder who else would be there, but then again, I probably would just find out in a few minutes.

The past criminals were held in a room as the Kage talked about what to officially do with them. They could leave that room, as they all were wearing chakra resistant bands, some wearing more than one to hold back their chakra, but they all seemed to want to be around each other. It was a comfort to them secretly I guess. Some familiar faces to be confused with.

Once I got to the room they were all in, I could hear some yelling going on. Slowly I opened the door to see the blond one, Deidara yelling at my friend, Sasuke. We met originally when we were both living in the snake's den, meaning when we were with Orochimaru. I helped train Sasuke when the snake was too busy for him. It's a wonder I'm still alive, but I'll get to who I am more later. That isn't important right now.

"How can you be alive, I killed you, un!" Deidara yelled out as he stood practically in Sasuke's face. Since the war, Sasuke has calmed down. He wasn't a psychopath any longer. He was pretty cool now.

"I keep telling you, Deidara, you're an idiot. That's how he is alive." The redhead, Sasori muttered as his former partner turned to them yell at him next. I just continued to stand there in the doorway as I watched the situation play out until a girl approached me.

"Are you the Mist's ninja who is supposed to join us?" It was the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi. Her words brought most of the room's attention onto me.

"Unfortunately." Was my only response as I entered the room and closed the door behind me. Other than the former criminals, there were multiple ANBU in the room from various countries and other ninjas from the 5 Great Nations. Sakura was one of them, and when she saw me, she just glared at me and turned away.

"What's your name?" I just looked at the girl in front of me and blinked. "Come on, our nations get along now and we will be here watching over these guys for who knows how long, so we might as well try to get along." That was a good point I guess.

"My name is Adryn."

"That's a boy's name, isn't it?" Oh great, another one who has to point that out. As if I never knew that before.

"It is, but it's not my real name. It's my name given to me by Lady Mizukage."

"I see. That's a little odd. What was your name before?"

"Arcadia." I could see out of the corner of my eye Itachi perk up. He recognized me. However, so did a few others as well.

"Wait, Arcadia? That's you?" Kisame stood up from his seat next to the Uchiha.

"I go by Adryn now, but yes. Hello Ki." I smiled at the tall blue man happily. He and I once knew each other when I first came to the Mist Village. He and Zabuza were my mentors at one point. Kisame and I got... a little closer than that though later on in my life when I was older.

"Ki? You are still calling me that?" Kisame approached me and wrapped his arms around me. "I figured after we got so close you'd stop calling me by that childish name." I just laughed and hugged him back.

"I'll never outgrow that name, it's too cute, just like you." I had a teasing smile on my face, as we began to hear gagging sounds. We pulled away from each other and turned to look at the noise.

"Seriously, that fucking freak, cute? Is there something wrong with you, Adryn?" It was Hidan who's spoken up in his annoyed voice. He called me by my name surprisingly. He knew me though. Kakuzu and I were quite acquainted once before. Come to think of it, I knew a lot of the members of the Akatsuki.

"Shut up Hidan." Kakuzu snapped at the purple-eyed man.

"Don't cover for your girlfriend, Kakuzu, she's flirting with that fish fuck!"

"Kuzu and I were never dating, Hidan. So calm yourself." Oh boy, I knew what was coming next, I shouldn't have said that.

"So you two were just fucking each other then?" I sighed and turned a little pink while the other girls in the room just stared at me. I think I was losing their trust now.

"Are the Kage aware of your... relationships to the Akatsuki?" Sakura questioned instantly. I never had her trust in the first place.

"For the most part," I responded, smiling at the girl who just glared at me back.

"I don't trust you, Adryn, Arcadia, whatever your name is." Sakura was walking closer to me now. She was clearly showing signs of wanted to punch me or kick me out of the room. So I did the only thing I could. My eyes went Sharingan and I glared at her.

"You wanna fight me, little girl?"

"Sakura, enough." Sasuke finally turned his attention onto us. He instantly scolded his girlfriend.

"Sasuke, she was in bed with at least two of the Akatsuki members. Why should we allow her to be anywhere near them?"

"Because if one of them breaks their chakra bracelets, I'll be able to stop them." I snapped instantly.

"I don't believe that."

"Wanna see how I'd do it, sweetheart?"

"Adryn!" Sasuke instantly brought out his Sharingan eyes and stood in front of Sakura. If there was anyone who could stop my eyes, it'd be him. Since I actually had his eyes implanted into my body anyway. Of course, they would be inferior to his brother's within him.

"What is going on here? How does a ninja of the Mist have those eyes? What is so strange about you, Adryn?" Kurotsuchi questioned as she hesitantly got in the mix of things. It was clear by the number of eyes on me that I needed to explain things and fast. Otherwise, I'd have the ANBU coming after me. Well not my ANBU anyway, they were loyal to me, but the other ones are what I meant.

"What is this? Storytime?" I condescendingly questioned. I just got a glare from Sasuke in return. "Fine fine, I'll explain." I moved over to grab a chair and moved in to be in front of the group. "I'll only say all this once, and it doesn't leave this room, got it?"

"Sure, trust a bunch of criminals to keep a secret," Hidan grumbled as he was pulled back into his chair by Kakuzu. Kisame went to take his seat next to Itachi as the other ninja moved to the sides.

"I am Orochimaru's daughter." Multiple eyes went wide at that, but I ignored it and continued. "I was made from his DNA and Tsunade's DNA, along with Madara Uchiha's DNA. That is how I have these eyes. However, a few years ago, I became blind and Sasuke gave me his old pair of eyes, in hopes that they might work for me and they do. So now I can see again and I have the eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. So that explains my eyes."

"So, you're telling me that the 2 tails jinchuriki is also an Uchiha?! Doesn't that seem a bit dangerous? Not to mention you were a criminal until a few years ago." Sakura snapped out.

"I wouldn't say I'm an Uchiha, though I did live with them a little before they all died. I just have their eyes."

"Eyes you were about to use on me!"

"Sweetheart, I wouldn't waste my eyes on you, you aren't worthy to put under a genjutsu."

"Adryn." Sasuke's tone was warning me to be nicer to his little girlfriend. So I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

"So that must mean you knew Itachi before he slaughtered everyone, right?" Hidan questioned as he looked between Itachi and me. I just nodded my head. "Has he always had that stick up his ass?"

"Hidan!" Kakuzu snapped warning his former partner to calm himself.

"Not like that is any of your business, is it?"

"Listen here bitch, I asked you a question!"

"Yeah? And how about you fuck off with your stupid question." My eyes went back to Sharingan. I was warning that boy to calm the fuck down before I sent his ass into a coma.

"I'd like to know how little Itachi was too," Kisame spoke up, smirking at Itachi who just kept a straight face.

"Fine, I'll tell you one thing about Itachi. Okay?" That seemed to put Itachi on edge and made Kisame smile wider. "Itachi was the cutest little thing ever. Not that that's changed much. He's the best looking out of all you sorry folk." A chorus of offended "hey"s rang out from the younger more attractive members of the group, meaning Deidara and Hidan. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Come on, tell us something serious," Kisame grumbled, probably offended by my words.

"Why is story time's topic now on Itachi? I liked being the center of attention." I was almost pouting now but Itachi then shattered that facade I had put up.

"I remember you being a shy and quiet little girl. Where'd she go?" I looked at Itachi, shocked. I was at a loss for words for a moment, before I smiled at him. It was almost like he'd been teasing me, but I was honestly thrown off.

"She died when I left the village," I muttered

but kept staring into Itachi's eyes. I then smiled a bit softer than before. "It's certainly nice to see you again, Itachi. It's been longer for you, but I was there the day you died. So it's nice to see you alive and well, unlike then."

"Adryn..." Sasuke was hesitant in his voice. He knew how much I died that day. I had been in love with Itachi for many years of my life and to watch him die in front of me, without being able to do anything to help, truly killed me, and Sasuke knew it.

"Wow bitch, the way you just looked at him, it looked like you were in love with him." Hidan chose that moment to be very smart. At Hidan's words, I turned fully red. I couldn't form a response and I saw Itachi's eyes widen ever so slightly.

"Hidan you idiot." Kakuzu snapped at him and whacking him upside the head.

"What?! Was I wrong or something, because it sure as fuck looks like I'm right!" I closed my eyes and at that moment wished I was dead. Unfortunately, that wasn't how things go, so when I opened my eyes, I kept them on the floor. Until I heard Kisame laugh. I then looked up at him confused and no longer blushing.

"What's so funny Ki?" I questioned instantly as he chuckled to himself, confusing more than just me.

"I just remembered a conversation we once had back in the day. I understand now. The guy you were talking about was Itachi."

"Oh my god, stop. I literally can't handle this any further." I put my hands over my face and wanted to die all over again. I just hoped that Kisame would stop talking before revealing an even more embarrassing side of me.

"Wait, so it isn't Sasuke that you like?" Sakura asked in a soft tone.

"That's gross Sakura. You thought all this time that I liked him?!"

"Well you're always hanging around him when you get the chance and you talk about him so fondly..."

"That's because he's practically my little brother. I have always kept him safe and I got attached to him, just not in the way you think. I've always been in love with-" I stopped myself instantly as my face went back to being red. "Uh, never mind."

"Seriously? You loved Itachi even after murdering all the people you once knew in the Uchiha Compound?" Sakura's question pissed me off.

"I'm pretty sure Sasuke has tried to kill you before yet you still love him. So how about you don't judge me, okay, sweetheart?"

"So the bitch admits her feelings for Itachi!" Hidan began to laugh as I realized what I just admitted without actually admitting it.

"I'm leaving. Goodbye." With that, I walked right out of the room.

"Wait, you can't just leave us! It's your job to stay in this room!" Kurotsuchi called out to me as I fled the room. I could hear Hidan laughing at me as I ran away.

That was way too embarrassing. I mean it was never a secret that I was in love with Itachi. I mean I had a few fights with Izumi over him at one point when she was still alive, but I never allowed myself to show any feelings like that around Itachi. I mean he totally knew I loved him, right? Even little 5-year-old Sasuke knew at the time. Maybe he didn't, judging by the shocked look in his eyes.

"Great, now I'll never be able to look at him again," I grumbled as I went to find Chojuro to take over for me. I eventually found him, in a meeting with Lady Mizukage.

"Oh, Adryn... Are you alright? Your face is seriously red." Lady Mizukage commented as soon as she saw me.

"Chojuro, can you watch the criminals for me? I can't be in there a moment longer today."

"Sure, but are you okay?" Chojuro was a sweetie. He always was worried about me when I needed it most. He was truly one of my closest friends.

"They all found out about how I'm in love with Itachi Uchiha. So no, I'm not okay. I'm dying of embarrassment. I can't face them, not after revealing so much of myself to them."

"It makes you sound like you went in there and stripped down for them." Lady Mizukage stated with a small smile on her face.

"I wish I had, that would have been less embarrassing than them figuring out that I love Itachi."

"Very well, Chojuro, keep an eye on them for the day, tomorrow, Adryn will take over once again."

"Yes, ma'am." Both I and Chojuro spoke in unison as we straightened up. So with that figured out, I was released from embarrassing myself further. I had a feeling that they would ask all types of questions to Chojuro but I knew that he wouldn't tell them anything about me. I trusted him, and he trusted me, for the most part anyway. It was quite difficult to trust me in any circumstance when you find out how I fell into bed with a few Akatsuki members, metaphorically and physically. What do I mean by that you ask? Well, let's go down the list of the members that I know.

I know Kisame due to my time living with Zabuza and Haku. I met him when I was younger and as I grew older, I made moves on him until he couldn't deny me any further and that's what led us to become friends. I was very torn up when I heard he died.

I know Kakuzu due to my time as an informant. I'd help guide him to where the bounties were that were affecting the Mist Village. I ended up sleeping with him a few times. He was very rough and took advantage of my regenerative abilities too much.

I know Hidan through Kakuzu. He and I never got along in the first place. He didn't like that I was screwing around with his partner and he didn't like that whenever I showed up, he had to go on a bounty hunt with Kakuzu.

I know Sasori because of my time as Kabuto's assistant. I would occasionally go to their secret meetings together. It was mostly so I could spy on them for Orochimaru, to be honest. Other than that, I don't completely know him all that well. I never even knew what he looked like until I saw his dead puppet body.

I know Obito because I was using him to keep tabs on Itachi. He was using me to keep tabs on Sasuke anyway due to him all along wanting Sasuke to become one of his members. We never really talked too much. He just allowed me to follow him around to the hidden bases to ensure Itachi was still alive and mostly well. I never really interfered with the Akatsuki business. I mostly remained loyal to the Mist Village.

I knew Nagato and Konan because of the same reasons. I was keeping an eye on Itachi and they caught me one day. So Obito and I had to explain everything to them. They weren't too thrilled about it, but they let me do whatever I wanted as long as their leader was okay with it.

Finally, the most important one of all. I know Itachi through my time spent in the Leaf Village. I was adopted by Shisui's aunt who was taking care of him. Therefore, I knew Itachi quite well. That is also how I met Sasuke. I would follow Itachi and Shisui around like a little lost puppy. I was only a few years younger than them, but not nearly as young as Sasuke. Even though they treated me like I was his age. They never really let me be a part of their group, but sometimes, they would let me join in their training with Sasuke. It was always fun. I truly miss the old times we had together before everything fell apart.

So that's all the members I knew personally. Of course, I have heard and seen stuff of all of them. They were a serious threat to my village, so of course, I would be watching them anyway. I just had some personal connections to some of them. Before I was allowed to be enlisted as an official Mist ninja, I had to tell everything to Lady Mizukage and in turn, she told the other Kage about my connections to the Akatsuki members. They were only allowing me near them to hopefully keep them calm and earn their trust. It was unclear why, but I had a feeling that they were wanting to one day use the Akatsuki members as their little army against the various dangers in the world.


	2. Playing Doctor

The next morning, I was confronted by Lady Mizukage as soon as I entered the mansion containing the previously dead criminals.

"Listen Adryn, I understand that you don't want to go back in there, but I can't have Chojuro in there with them. He needs to be by my side."

"I understand, ma'am. I'll handle it. I'll just ignore them while I'm in the room with them." I responded calmly. I knew that he needed to be by her side. He was going to be taking over after she was done being the Mizukage after all. He needed to be shadowing her more closely than before.

"Well, they are no longer in that one room. They are now adventuring throughout the mansion. Who knows who you will run into now. Just... play nicely." Lady Mizukage patted me on the shoulder and then left the area we were standing in. I couldn't help but sigh. I didn't want to have this job, but I also didn't want to spend the rest of my life in a jail cell. So I had to suck it up and deal with it.

"What's that sighing for, Adryn? Unhappy to be stuck with us?" I turned to the voice to see Kisame and Itachi standing there. Both of them were just staring at me. However, Kisame had a smirk on his face while Itachi was stoic as usual.

"Of course not, I just... don't like dealing with so many people." I kept my eyes right on Kisame, as I couldn't look at Itachi. I was worried I'd lose it or something.

"You never did handle being around too many others that well." It was Itachi who'd spoken up next, causing a blush to come over my face. He was speaking to me normally as if yesterday didn't happen and my feelings for him didn't come out in a room full of criminals and others.

"Well, I guess I've always hated people," I spoke without looking at him. I was looking at the floor now.

"I don't think that's it at all."

"Huh?" I looked up to see Itachi faintly smiling at me. It was only a little hint of a smile, not even enough to actually call it a smile. Just a little less of a frown than usual.

"You just are a quiet and shy girl, like you've always been. Despite acting like you were yesterday." I almost died at the mention of yesterday, but thankfully Kisame spoke up first.

"I'm surprised you remember so much about her. It's been a long time since you were children." Kisame smirked down at his former partner. "But I think you both are wrong. She doesn't hate people, nor is she too shy or quiet. She's just overthinking everything and that causes her to react weirdly to people. Aren't I right, Adryn? You always did like to panic internally about every little thing."

"I suppose, but why are we talking about me again? It's not a fun topic to talk about."

"It's fun for me," Kisame smirked wider at me, causing me to blush yet again.

"Kisame, don't tease her," Itachi commented as he turned away and began to walk towards where I think the kitchen was.

"I wasn't meaning to tease her, but her face just turns this beautiful shade of red when you do it, so I couldn't help it," Kisame responded simply as he followed the shorter male. I blushed harder then and turned away from them to walk elsewhere. However, when I turned, I collided right with the chest of someone else.

"Ouch. That fucking hurt." I grumbled as I rubbed at my nose.

"Watch where you're going, bitch." I deflated as soon as I heard those words. I looked up to see Kakuzu and Hidan standing there, meaning I turned right into Kakuzu.

"I was here first, you two should watch where you're going!" I snapped back, probably a little childish but I didn't like Hidan at all. It didn't faze Hidan at all though, he just smiled at me proudly. I could feel my left eye twitch as I felt he was about to say something stupid.

"I can't believe you can talk to Itachi like that after you got outed yesterday."

"Hidan, enough." Kakuzu shoved the purple-eyed male forward towards the kitchen. I guess, it was early enough that everyone wanted food. Even me. So instead of just watching the now bickering pair enter the kitchen, I followed them. In there was everyone else; Sasori, Obito, Nagato, Konan, Deidara, Itachi, and Kisame. It was like they all were having a little meeting.

"Why is everyone in here?" I questioned simply as all eyes turned to me.

"We all are hungry, but nothing in here looks like what we are used to, therefore none of us can cook food," Nagato responded from the chair he was sitting in. He wasn't frail any longer, but he still seemed to be so fragile.

"Oh. Well fuck I'm sorry. I don't think any of us even thought about that. I'll let Lady Mizukage know and she'll get someone in here to cook for you guys."

"Can't you?" Kisame asked as he held up a cooking pan. He at least recognized that. However, the stove/oven looked different from what they were used to.

"I'd very literally burn down this mansion if I tried, so no."

"So you're useless then, bitch." I was getting the feeling Hidan was calling me bitch whenever he could just to get a rise out of me. However, I just turned and left the room. I wondered where their other guards were, but I also didn't care too much. Expect that I was concerned where Sasuke was since I thought he'd be around his brother as much as he could. I guess that he didn't need to be anymore though. He had his closure before, so I guess he didn't have any more questions for his brother.

Anyway, that aside, I let Lady Mizukage know that they were all hungry and that they couldn't provide food for themselves. So the Hokage sent Sakura and Naruto in to help out. I ended up just watching as the two Leaf ninja explained everything to the slightly confused past criminals. It was kind of cute to watch Itachi be the first one to experiment and approach the stove to make some eggs for the rest of them. Most of them were very thankful for the food that Itachi made, but a few were assholes about it. Like Hidan and Deidara, however, they still ate the eggs and toast that Kisame figured out how to make anyway.

"So, bitch..." Was that just my name now? "Can I have my weapon back? Or any weapon? I need to perform my ritual for Lord Jashin."

"Just use a fork to stab someone or some shit," I responded, which immediately got Sakura and Naruto to speak up.

"No! Don't do that at all!" Sakura practically yelled.

"What? It's his religion. It's rude to stop someone from-"

"We can't have him killing anyone, Adryn, alright?" Naruto was a little calmer, but still, he was a little horrified that I told Hidan to just stab someone with a fork. I just sighed and turned to Hidan.

"Does it count if the person lives through being sacrificed? Or does it just matter if blood was spilled?"

"Well, Lord Jashin would prefer a true dead sacrifice," Hidan explained surprisingly calmly. I nodded my head and then thought of another question.

"Are you still immortal?" That made him stop altogether. He just froze up and looked at his hands confused. "Before you do anything irrational, let's go to the infirmary to check it out in a more peaceful, non-bloody way."

"...Fine..." I watched as he got up from his seat and walked over to me.

"Come to think of it, everyone here hasn't been checked up on. I think it'd be best to go through everyone and make sure there isn't anything wrong with any of you. Sakura and I will start with Hidan and go from there."

"Why me?" Sakura instantly questioned, a little offended. I just turned to her and smiled.

"You are the best medical ninja here, so of course you'd have to come along. There are things I don't know how to do. It's been years since I've done anything medical-related."

"You're a medical ninja too?" Naruto seemed a little shocked at this. I nodded my head simply.

"Yup, but I was taught by Kabuto and it was a long ass time ago. I usually don't heal anyone at all though. I regenerate as soon as I'm hurt, so there's no need for me to know it and I work alone mostly so yeah." I then grabbed a hold of Hidan's arm and pulled him along with me. "Let's go find the infirmary! Come along, Sakura!" With an audible sigh, the pink-haired girl followed us. Hidan struggled to get out of my grip, but I was too strong and he couldn't do anything about it. So eventually, he gave up and allowed me to pull him along.

Once we found the infirmary, we entered it with Sakura following closely behind. Instantly, she began to order me around to do things and collect items that she needed for the tests. Hidan didn't appreciate being poked by needles, but it allowed us to realize that he was still immortal. There was nothing different about his blood and everything was normal otherwise, but we were able to watch the needle wound heal itself slowly without me or Sakura healing it ourselves.

"Hey Hidan, can I cut your hand off, you know, for testing purposes?" I suddenly question the man who just glared at me in response.

"If you find me a sacrifice." He finally retorted after a few moments of silence. I just sighed and then smiled at him.

"If you can kill me, I'll be your sacrifice."

"Excuse me, bitch?!" Hidan was just as surprised as Sakura was. She nearly dropped the container holding his blood when I'd spoken those words.

"Adryn is that such a good idea?!" Sakura was horrified now as she thought about it. I just smiled at the two of them.

"Don't worry, I regenerate just as fast as I can be hurt." I waved their worries off and continued to smile. Finally, I pulled out a kunai and sliced Hidan's hand off without his permission.

"Ow! Fuck, you bitch!" Hidan held his right arm and stared at where his hand was a moment ago. I just laughed and picked it up off the floor. Blood was now everywhere and Sakura was instantly in action. She snatched the hand out of my hand and began to heal Hidan at once.

"You are insane!"

"I just wanted to test something. Sakura, let it heal on its own. I'll stitch it back up. We need to make sure he's fully immortal before he

does his ritual." Sakura must have seen my point and stopped healing the hand. She then handed it back to me and allowed me to stitch it up with some medical thread. "How long do things usually take to fully heal for you?"

"I don't know! I never paid any attention, ask Kakuzu!"

"You two seem pretty close for people who claim to hate each other." Hidan stopped yet again and froze before glaring at me.

"I think we're done here, bitch." Hidan jumped down off the table and left the room. As he left, I decided to yell out to him.

"Tell Itachi to come in here! He's next to be checked out!"

"Fuck you, bitch!" Hidan yelled in response. However, he must have done as I asked because Itachi opened the door after a few minutes. He just paused when he saw the mess in the room.

"What happened in here?" Itachi simply questioned as he looked at all the blood Sakura was currently mopping up.

"Hidan happened."

"No, you happened," Sakura grumbled as she finished the job. "You could have helped, you know."

"I could have," I confirmed as I motioned for Itachi to sit up on the bed. He understood me and moved to sit on the bed, watching out for any more blood as he did so. "Alright, so have you been feeling anything off or anything like that? Both Sakura and I know the truth about you, and about your sickness, so feel free to be yourself and to be honest with us." That seemed to shock Itachi slightly as his eyes widened a bit.

"...I understand." Itachi seemed to still be a little hesitant but he also seemed to have a few questions, as he began to speak once again. "How did you both come to find out the truth?"

"I was there when Sasuke heard the truth and he then told Sakura later on. They are dating and he didn't want to keep any secrets from her." Those words caused Sakura's face to turn red.

"Adryn..."

"Oh hush, he needs to know anyway, you two will be getting married soon. It's Sasuke's fault for not telling him in the first place anyway."

"Sasuke has a girlfriend, finally?" Itachi couldn't help but smile at that. He seemed relieved to hear that.

"Yup and soon they will be having little pink-haired Uchiha babies." That caused a deep frown to appear on Itachi's face and a huge deep red blush to appear on Sakura's.

"Adryn!"

"Now now, I'm just speaking the truth. Well hopefully not about the pink-haired part, but the baby part. It seems like you don't like the thought of a pink-haired Uchiha either, huh Itachi?"

"I'd... prefer an Uchiha to not have pink hair..."

"Understandable." I smiled at him as I spoke, but then I turned serious. "On the more serious side of things, we need to make sure your sickness isn't taking a hold of you again and if it is, we need to figure out how to cure you."

"I don't believe there is a cure."

"Well, you have two of the best healers right in front of you, I'm sure we can figure something out. However, first, we need to examine you and make sure it is or isn't there."

So, after a good hour of blood tests and various other tests that are too complicated to speak of, Sakura and I determined that his sickness was there, and was in the early stages of it. We hadn't told him yet, as Sakura and I were speaking his hushed voices around him. It seemed to get on his nerves slightly because, after a few minutes of it, he spoke up.

"If you have found something, I would like to know about it." Itachi's tone was calm, but hiding anxiety deep within. The pink-haired woman and I turned to look at each other for a moment before I finally spoke up.

"Well, you are still sick Itachi. It's just that it isn't as bad as it was. You aren't dying yet, but if we don't do anything about it, you will be."

"Hm..." Itachi fell silent as he contemplated my words.

"So, we'll need to know all the information about your sickness and the medication you were taking to prolong your life."

"Alright." Itachi then explained his symptoms to Sakura and I. He said that it began with just low stamina and low chakra reserves. Then it progressed to coughing up blood and worsened stamina and chakra reserves. He explained the various medications that he was on and what they were supposed to do. Some were to heighten his stamina and his chakra and some were supposed to stop the coughing up blood, but nothing ever really worked all that well. It was the most speaking I'd ever heard him do, which captivated me, however, I didn't let it show on my face.

"I see. Thank you for telling us. That is more information than we had before. Do you know of anything else? Were you in constant pain or anything like that?" Sakura had been jotting down his symptoms as he spoke them and seemed to gain a few questions.

"Sometimes."

"We should check your organs to make sure that none of them are failing. We also need to figure out why you have low chakra reserves. You are of the Uchiha clan, most of them were said to have powerful chakra, but you seem to be the opposite due to your sickness."

"Is there anything else you can think of? Anything even little?" I asked when Sakura looked at me for any more questions.

"...There is something else. I wasn't sure if I should say anything or not, but my vision isn't as great as it once was. I'm not nearly as blind as I was before my death, however, things are slightly blurry and fading around the edges."

"So your eyes are bad as well. We could say that has to do with your Sharingan but you haven't been using it, have you?"

"No. Not once."

"I see. Well, there were a few things that Sakura and I were thinking it could be, but nothing would make your vision go like this. It must be something we haven't seen entirely."

"If it's something you haven't seen before, how can you treat it?" Itachi seemed doubtful but I just smiled at him.

"Don't worry Itachi, I won't let whatever this is take you from this world again. I'll do everything in my power to heal you and ensure you live a long life this time. I promise you this." There was more to what I wanted to say, but now wasn't the time to say it.

"For Sasuke's sake, or your own?" Sakura questioned from behind me as she got more needles ready. I turned to her and glared.

"He already lived one life entirely for Sasuke. I want to heal him so he can find his own path and live his own life." I snapped back at the girl. She ignored the hostility in my voice and just turned around with a needle ready to draw more blood.

"Thank you, Adryn." It was Itachi's voice, causing me to turn back to face him. He had a genuine smile on his face now, catching me and Sakura off guard.

"O-Of course." Fuck I didn't mean to stutter there. I then blushed and turned away from him completely.

"Not even going to mention that... Let's draw more blood so we can run a few more tests." Sakura commented as she looked from me to Itachi.

"Hm." Itachi didn't seem all that thrilled to need more blood taken, but before Sakura could stick the needle in his arm, a violent cough ran through him, causing me and Sakura to be at his side within a moment. I handed him a tissue to cough into as blood was brought up. Ignoring that, it was good for us to hear him cough like that. Once he was done and calmed down, I spoke up.

"That was terrible, Itachi. Have you been coughing up blood since you came back to life, or was this the first time?"

"It was the second time." I wanted to smack him.

"You know, I kind of feel like smacking you right now."

"Adryn, you can't hit the patient!" Sakura scolded instantly as Itachi turned to me with a confused look on his face.

"I said I felt like it, not that I would!" I snapped back. "And you, don't give me that look! You should have come to someone right away when you started coughing up blood the first time!" Itachi looked down at his feet with a defeated look on his face. "I understand that this is hard for you, but you have people you can trust, Itachi. We want the best for you and we can't give you the best if you aren't completely open with us." I put my hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him.

"I think we need lady Tsunade's help with this. She would know how to treat him better than we would." Sakura finally spoke up, causing me to nod.

"As much as I don't want to see her, I think you are right."

"I'll have Kakashi, I mean Lord Hokage send word for her." With that, Sakura left the room.

"Itachi, right now there isn't anything we can do but research and have my mother come to help us. So I guess just go back and send Kisame in next." I removed the hand from his shoulder and turned away from him.

"Thank you again, Adryn." Itachi got down off the table but didn't leave the room. I realized this and turned to face him.

"What's up?"

"You were there when I fought Sasuke, correct?" Itachi began simply. I just nodded my head. "Why didn't you try to stop us, you knew that I was going to die in that fight."

"It wasn't my place to stop you." I smiled sadly at the man in front of me. "I knew what you wanted, I knew you wanted to die at Sasuke's hands. Therefore, I could do nothing but watch as you two tried to kill each other."

"I...am sorry you had to witness that." Itachi seemed genuinely regretful for that, but I just smiled at him.

"Don't be, I got these eyes because of you." He blinked in wonder at what I meant. So I changed my eyes to my Mangekyou Sharingan. "Not only did I get Sasuke's eyes when he got yours, but when you died, these eyes came about. The heartbreak I felt at watching you die right in front of me, it nearly killed me, but it also caused these eyes to happen." I wasn't sure that being this honest with him was a good idea, but I had to be at this point. I didn't waver this time though. I just kept staring right into his eyes. So I was able to see the hesitation in his eyes and something else, almost like sadness. However, that was instantly replaced by relief.

"I'm glad you left the village when you did. I... don't think I would have been able to kill you..." Itachi's voice was low but I heard it loud and clearly. However, it confused the fuck out of me.

"What?" I couldn't help but ask even though I knew exactly what he'd said already. However, Itachi didn't answer me. He was already heading out of the door. "Itachi?"

"I'll send Kisame in when I see him." Was all the answer I got before the door closed, leaving me completely alone in the infirmary. I was confused. What could he possibly have meant by that? He wouldn't have been able to kill me but he was able to kill his girlfriend and his parents? I was so confused all I could do was stand there and stare at the door.


	3. Sacrificed

Itachi must have seen Kisame right away because it only took a few moments of confused silence before the blue man was walking into the infirmary. He instantly knew that something was up with me, so he approached me quickly.

"Are you alright? Itachi didn't do anything to you, right?" Kisame didn't actually believe that the man would do something to me, he was just a bit worried after seeing the confused look on my face.

"No, of course, Itachi didn't do anything to me," I spoke softly, choosing my words carefully. "But I wouldn't say that I'm alright... Anyway, I need to check you out, so sit down and hush up." I smiled at Kisame, causing him to smile back at me.

"Check me out, huh?"

"Not like that!" My face went completely red at his teasing words.

"Why not? I remember we used to have plenty of fun checking each other out before."

"I... don't do anything like that anymore."

"Have fun?"

"Have sex. I don't have sex. With anyone."

"Oh? Why not?" Kisame seemed to be very concerned for me. I used to be somewhat of a whore I guess. I'd sleep with anyone who was of use to me. If they didn't have a reason for me to use them to my benefit in some way, I'd never touch them. However, after watching the man I loved die right in front of me, I never really got the urge to have sex anymore. It broke me in many ways.

"I just... never have felt like it." Kisame then chose that moment to kiss me. It was a passionate kiss that nearly set my heart on fire. However, it hurt more than anything. Not physically, of course, he was very gentle despite his looks, but emotionally. When Kisame realized that I wasn't kissing back, he pulled away and sadly smiled down at me.

"You really were broken over Itachi, weren't you?"

"His death shattered me, but believe me, Ki, your death hurt me nearly as much. I've always lo-" I was stopped by a hand over my mouth.

"You could never care for me the way you care for him. So please, Adryn, don't say it." Kisame's eyes screamed sadness, but just as fast as the feeling was there, it was gone. "Anyway, you don't need to check me over for any problems. I feel just fine. Nothing is wrong with me and if anything feels off I'll come to you right away. Alright, doc?"

"Kisame!" He was already out of the door though. I couldn't help but lean against the table behind me. My heart felt like it was breaking for him all over again. However, I didn't have long to think about it as my next patient was walking in. "Hello, Kuzu." I forced a smile and instantly he grumbled back to me.

"Don't pretend in front of me, Adryn. Something just happened with Kisame. I could see it in his eyes and it's written all over your face." Kakuzu's voice was of pure irritation.

"Oh god, please don't tell me that you are in love with me as well."

"Don't be so full of yourself."

"You're right, you could never love anything but money. Unless you are in love with Hidan..." He glared at me for that one, but it made me chuckle, bringing a more peaceful look onto his face.

I got right to work after that. I checked over him and made sure he was as healthy as he could be. He didn't have his extra hearts, but I told him I'd think of helping him out one of these days, but no promises. After that, the rest of the Akatsuki came in one by one. Nagato was the only one I was truly worried about, but he seemed to be just fine for some reason. He still had the Rinnegan, but his body was completely healthy. He even had his red hair again.

Eventually, Sakura came back in, but only after I was done with everyone. I showed her my notes that I'd taken with everyone and she seemed to be pleased enough.

"Good work, Adryn. You seem to be getting the hang of this." Sakura surprisingly commented after going through my notes.

"Thank you?" I returned as a question. She just smiled at me.

"Listen, for Sasuke's sake, we need to get along. Just like with Naruto, alright? You dislike him just as much as you dislike me, but you deal with him because you both are Sasuke's best friends. Well, I'll be his wife soon, so I'm just as important as the two of you."

"I understand. I'll try to get along with you better."

"Thank you." With that, my stomach chose that moment to growl in hunger.

"Oh, I guess I never ate this morning..."

"You should probably go get some food, I'll clean up here."

"Thanks." With that, I headed out to find the kitchen again. When I did find it, Itachi and Kisame were in there chatting with each other. Well, Kisame was chatting, while Itachi remained silent. When I walked into the room, both men turned to look at me their faces changing instantly. Kisame's face was that of someone who wasn't ready to see me yet and Itachi's was relief. He was hoping I'd take Kisame away from him so he could be in peaceful silence. "Oh, um, hey guys, just here for some food."

"Food can wait, you will be my sacrifice now, bitch!" Hidan grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room. All I saw was Kisame's and Itachi's confused and worried looks as I was pulled away. I was led to the living room that was now all different. The couches and tables were shoved against the wall making a nice large area of just empty carpet.

"Um, we have to do this inside?"

"Oh, am I allowed outside now?"

"No."

"Then shut the fuck up and bring out some weapons, bitch!" I sighed and did as he asked. I handed him a kunai and just accepted my fate. A few of the other members entered the room, realized what was going on and then some of them left, while a few of them stayed. The ones that stayed were Itachi, Kisame, and Kakuzu.

"Adryn..." Kisame's tone was a bit concerned.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. She's immortal. Believe me, I've tried to kill her multiple times." Kakuzu commented simply causing me to turn to him angrily.

"Yeah, and I'm still pissed off about that!" While I was distracted, Hidan sliced my arm. He then laughed like a god damned maniac.

"Finally, I shall give Lord Jashin his sacrifice!" Hidan then tasted the blood, turned into his ritual self and then began to laugh more.

"I won't die, no matter what you do. Kakuzu has even torn out one of my hearts before and it didn't kill me." I informed the crazed man as he lifted the kunai to stab himself. He did so, right in the heart causing him to jolt and laugh some more. All it did for me was cause me to jolt as well and cause blood to start flowing. "Oh my god, this feels so fucking weird!" I yelled out instantly. "I'm being stabbed without actually being stabbed. What the fuck!?"

"You good, Adryn?" Kisame questioned simply as he watched the events unfold.

"Yeah, I'm good." I just smiled and turned to look at him before turning back to Hidan. I then pulled out another kunai and stabbed him in the chest.

"Ow, you bitch, what are you doing?!" Hidan yelled out as he pulled back away from me.

"I just wanted to feel more pain is all."

"I forgot about her insanity. She enjoys pain as well." To Kakuzu's words, I just began to laugh.

"I honestly forgot about that too." I retorted as Hidan just stared at me.

"You're no fun. Show me the fucking wounds I inflicted. I don't believe you're actually fucking fine."

"What? Um, no. I'd have to take off my shirt to do that."

"So what? Show me, bitch!" I shook my head and he then reached for my shirt. I dodged him but was caught by his other arm. We then began to struggle for a moment before I gave up.

"Fine! God damn you fucking freak! I'll take off my shirt!" I yelled out shoving him away. I then angrily pulled off my shirt, revealing my black lacy bra. Thankfully it covered everything that it needed to cover despite it being mostly all lace.

"Where are the fucking wounds?!"

"They healed up instantly."

"She regenerates as soon as a wound is inflicted on her. If you stab her, the wound heals. Even if you break her bones, you will hear them snapping back into place as her body fixes itself." Kakuzu explained to Hidan plainly. "I once shattered the bones and collapsed her throat, however even though she couldn't breathe, she healed up in no time at all." As he spoke, I put my shirt back on.

"Yeah, that was rude, especially because we were in the middle of something as you did that."

"Oh god, I don't need to hear what happened during sex for you two." Hidan groaned as he handed me both my kunai back.

"Shut up, Hidan," Kakuzu muttered as he turned to leave the room. Hidan quickly followed him, yelling about how bored he was now and how upset his precious Jashin was going to be. I turned to watch them go and ended up meeting eyes with Kisame. He simply turned away from me and walked out of the room, leaving me to call after him.

"Ki, wait!" He, however, ignored me. I couldn't help but sigh in response to his nothingness.

"Did something happened between the two of you?" Itachi questioned as soon as the door to the living room was shut once again. I looked down at the floor, guiltily.

"I guess, in a way, I rejected him. I didn't mean to, it's just..." I sighed again.

"May I ask you a question, Adryn?"

"Of course." I looked back up and met his eyes. There was confusion in them.

"Do you love me?" That's the question? It shocked me so bad I jolted backward like I'd been physically hit. I then smiled at him and laughed a little bit.

"That's the dumbest thing you've ever asked me in your life, 'tachi." I muttered, calling him by the old nickname I used to call him when we were children. "I've been in love with you for all these years, even Izumi knew, which was why she and I never got along. Everyone could tell, except you." My words seemed to shock him slightly, and the mention of his dead girlfriend seemed to bother him a bit.

"I see." That's all he had to say to me after I confessed my feelings for the first time? It hurt, I have to admit. However, I wasn't going to show him that, so I just smiled and walked right out of the

room.

"It was nice talking to you, Itachi." My words betrayed me though. The tone as well. I sounded hurt, which caused him to whip around to face me, but I was already gone. I hurriedly ran down the hallway nearest me to get out of his sight. I just needed to get out before the tears started. I never wanted to tell him my true feelings, I was just happy to watch him from afar. I never once wanted him to have to reject me, and that was the only place this was going.

Of course, the world just has to hate me, as instead of making it out of the door, I got lost. I wasn't entirely sure where I was, and I didn't care. However, I instantly knew that I wasn't alone. So I opened the nearest door and found it led to a bedroom. Nagato's bedroom to be exact. He and Konan were just talking to each other as they sat on his bed. They usually isolated themselves from the rest. They instantly saw me and stopped talking. Nagato must have sensed something off with me because he spoke up before I could close the door.

"Adryn, are you alright?" Instantly the tears began, worrying both of them.

"Come on in, Adryn. I think you might need a friend right now." Konan stood up and led me to the place she was originally sitting. It took me a moment to calm down, but then I told them everything. About how I was already upset over Kisame, but now Itachi had made me admit my feelings for him. It was too much for me. I felt like I was losing one of my best friends and then to have Itachi just say "I see" to my feelings, it hurt.

"Maybe Itachi was just confused about how he felt about your feelings?" Nagato suggested once I was done with my story. "I'm sure if you give him some time, you'll get your answer that you were looking for, whether it's him rejecting you or accepting your feelings."

"And about Kisame, it just seems like he's a little hurt over you. He might have cared about you deeply and seeing how much you love Itachi might just be hurting him." Konan spoke next, trying to help me understand. They were both being quite kind to me.

"Thank you, both of you. I really needed someone to talk to." I muttered as I wiped away my tears. "So, how are you both holding up, being alive and all again?"

"We are doing quite well. Especially because I have a healthy body again." Nagato responded first while Konan responded right after.

"I am happy to be alive again, however, I do have concerns about it."

"What do you mean?" I asked simply as I looked at her with confusion written on my face.

"How were we all brought back to life, and why?"

"...That's a good question. We have many of our ANBU and other countries ANBU figuring that out. However, we have no leads as of right now."

"It was almost like someone preformed Rinne Rebirth and brought us all back." I froze instantly. I hadn't thought of that at all.

"That's possible, very possible, but why is the question," I responded after I thought about it for a few moments.

"Is there anyone capable of performing the jutsu though?"

"I mean, I could, but wouldn't I die after that?" Both sets of eyes shot to me.

"What do you mean, you could?" Konan questioned instantly.

"My actual eyes, they are Rinnegan. Due to Madara Uchiha and Tsunade's DNA within me. However, for the sake of the world, I removed them and took Sasuke's eyes. I know that isn't exactly what I said before, but the knowledge of my actual eyes is secret. Though I just told you two... Other than you two and me, only the current Kage know about my true eyes. Oh, and Sasuke and Kabuto of course. They were the first ones to know."

"Could someone have gotten their hands on them?"

"It's not possible... They were sealed away in a scroll and then locked up to keep them safe just in case I ever needed them again. However, I'll have the Kage check. I don't know where they are anymore. So I'll ask them." With that, I jumped off the bed and headed for the door. I paused before leaving though and turned back to them. "Thank you both, again. For everything." I know it didn't seem too much that they did, but they helped me sort through my issues and come to a conclusion about the situations.

"Of course, Adryn. Just come to us if you ever need help again." Nagato responded with a soft smile on his face. I nodded my head and then headed out, closing the door behind me.

I then quickly made my way through the mansion to try to find the front door. Along the way, I ran into Hidan and Kakuzu, but I didn't stop to talk to them, which pissed Hidan off. His yelling brought Kisame and Itachi out of wherever they just were to watch me practically run away from everyone.

"Sorry guys, I'll talk to you later! I need to leave right now and talk to the Kage!" I called back to them as I finally made my way outside. The ANBU blocking the doors allowed me to leave after I verified who I was. As I left, Sasuke and Sakura came in.

"Adryn, where are you rushing off to?" Sasuke asked as soon as he saw how fast I was moving.

"I'll explain later!" I called out as I took off completely. I was back to where the Kage were within a few minutes. As soon as I was to their location, I entered the little building and went to find where Lady Mizukage was.

"Oh, Adryn, what is it?" Lady Mizukage questioned as soon as I burst into the room that they were having a meeting in. Well, their meeting was just them currently drinking tea and chatting. Nothing too serious.

"My eyes, where are they? Do you know that they are still where you all put them?"

"What? Why?" Lord Tsuchikage demanded instantly as soon as he processed the words I'd spoken.

"I was talking with Nagato and Konan, and they suggested that maybe someone preformed Rinne Rebirth on the Akatsuki members to bring them back. Currently, the only complete pair of Rinnegan is in your possession." I explained to the Kage quickly. "So, please, check to make sure they are there so we can rule them out as a possibility."

"Very well, do as she says." Lady Mizukage spoke up before anyone could say no to me. "I trust Adryn and if she thinks that this is a possibility, then we need to check it out."

"Alright." Lord Tsuchikage agreed hesitantly. He wasn't sure about me, due to my criminal background, but if Lady Mizukage trusted me, he had no choice but to trust me too. As soon as everyone else agreed, the Hokage brought out a scroll. I wasn't aware he was the one with it.

"Why do you have my eyes, Lord Hokage?" I questioned out of pure confusion.

"You technically belong to our village. Therefore, your eyes are my responsibility." Lord Hokage stated as he opened up the scroll. As the scroll opened up, it was clear that something was still sealed in it. He made a move to unseal it, but I stopped him instantly.

"Wait! I have a bad feeling about this!" He paused and looked up at me. "Let me open it up. I am immortal, no attack can kill me, but if you or one of the other Kage got hurt, it would be a terrible thing."

"Be safe, Adryn." Lady Mizukage noted as I took the scroll from Lord Hokage. He showed me the unsealing jutsu used and I performed it perfectly. However, instead of a pair of eyes popping out, a paper bomb appeared and went off. I flew backward, hitting the wall hard, but otherwise, I was fine. My body healed up but my shirt was a little torn up. Nothing was revealed, thankfully, but I'd have to get a new shirt now.

"So the eyes are indeed gone. How could you let something like this happen, Lord Hokage?!" Lord Tsuchikage demanded instantly. The whole group began to yell at one another and argue while I just stood there dusting myself off.

"They have been with me on my person ever since I was given the scroll. I even slept with it next to me." Lord Hokage stated through the chaos.

"Well someone got to them anyway!"

"Now isn't the time to be placing blame on anyone!" I yelled out, gathering the attention of the Kage and their guards. "We need to start worrying about why the Akatsuki were brought back to life, and who did it! Stop yelling at each other, we are allied nations. We shouldn't be fighting."

"Adryn is right. We should be discussing how we are going to figure this out." Lady Mizukage agreed with the others agreeing after her.

"I need to go let Sasuke and the other guards there know about what is going on. Before that, I need to get a new shirt. Contact me if you guys figure anything out." I then turned around and left the room before they could all start talking at once again. I didn't know how Lady Mizukage did it. They all acted like a bunch of children sometimes.

So, now that one mystery has been solved, I went to my little house and got changed into a new, red tank top. I then headed back to the mansion where the criminals were being kept. Once I was allowed back in, I informed Kurotsuchi, Sakura and Sasuke of the new development. While telling them, Deidara and Sasori found out the truth as well. So then I went around letting the others know too while avoiding Kisame and Itachi. Once my task was done, I had to face them, so I went to find them. I ended up finding them in the, now put back together, living room. They both looked up to me when I entered and instantly the air was awkward.

"Um..." I was at a loss for words at first, but Kisame immediately realized something was different about me.

"Why do you have a new shirt on?"

"A paper bomb ruined my other one." I simply stated, causing both of them to become confused.

"What?" I then explained everything to Kisame and Itachi. I told them about the truth behind my eyes, that they were now missing and that they were probably used to bring them all back to life for some unknown purpose. "How can we be so sure you didn't use them to bring us back?" Kisame's question was a good question. So I explained to him that Lord Hokage had them this whole time and that I never had any chance to take them back.

"Besides, why would I bring back all of you? I get you and Itachi, maybe Kuzu and Hidan, but the others are irrelevant to me, for the most part."

"That's rude to say, I'm going to tell them."

"Don't!" I nearly yelled out louder then I meant to. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know about all we've figured out. Goodbye now." I turned away from them, but Itachi's voice stopped me.

"Adryn, I think we need to talk."

"I don't have anything left to say to you, Itachi."

"But I-" He was cut off by the door shutting behind me. I didn't want to hear anything he had to say. I wasn't ready yet. I didn't want to be completely rejected yet. Not by him. I couldn't take it. So I did the only thing I could do. I ran away. I decided to go and find someone else to talk to instead.


	4. Confession

Well, I intended to go and find someone else to talk to, however that isn't how things turned out. As I rounded a corner, I was grabbed by Kisame. I wasn't sure how he was able to catch up to me or get in front of me so quickly, but he did.

"Come on, Adryn, you can't run away forever. You owe him a conversation after dumping all that onto him." Kisame informed me as he picked me up and held me in his arms. He instantly began to walk, ignoring my struggling.

"Let me go, Ki! I don't want to talk to him!" I yelled out as I tried to escape his grip. However, he was far too strong and he held me against his chest tightly until we entered the living room once again. He then dropped me on the couch and walked out of the room. I got to my feet to run out of there but was stopped by Itachi grabbing my arm carefully.

"Adryn, wait. You once told me that I could be myself around you, so let me take you up on that offer." Itachi's voice was calm, but it had a worried tone to it. I just looked at him and sighed before sitting down on the couch next to him.

"What is it 'tachi?" My heart was beating hard. I could feel the nervousness set in. I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready for my heart to shatter like this.

"I think I've always known about your feelings for me." That was a decent start. It didn't hurt me as much as I was expecting. "I just didn't allow myself to acknowledge them until now. Due to my being with Izumi and worrying about the Uchiha uprising. I never had the time to think about how you felt for me."

"So now that you've had time, what do you think about them?" No, no, I don't want to know that. Please don't answer that. I have no idea why I asked that.

"I want to thank you, Adryn, for loving me all these years, even through all the things I've done." I looked away from him, not sure if I was just embarrassed or trying to hold back tears as he found a way to let me down gently. "I can't return your feelings right now, but maybe in time, as we get closer, if you want to, maybe then I could."

"Huh?" I snapped my head to look back up at him. He was gently smiling at me. "You aren't going to just flat out reject me?"

"No. I never once thought to do that to you. You are a precious friend and practically family to me. I'd never intentionally hurt you like that when I know how deeply you care for me." Itachi paused and looked me right in the eyes as he spoke next. "I want to give myself a chance to live for me and do the things that I want to do with the people I care about. I care about you, and I want to give myself another chance to possibly love again."

I could feel tears start to collect in my eyes but I tried to blink them away before they had the chance to fall, but unfortunately, I was trying in vain. Tears streamed down my face as I smiled at Itachi. He seemed to worry for a moment before starting to wipe away my tears.

"I'm sorry about this. I just was expecting you to reject me completely. I never thought you'd want to give me any type of chance." I muttered as I tried to stop crying. Itachi just gently smiled at me, a small smile as he helped dry my tears. After a few minutes, I calmed down and looked at the floor, totally embarrassed to have cried for such a reason.

"It's alright, Adryn. You always were a crybaby." He was teasing me, I knew that, but I couldn't help but pout anyway.

"I want to be angry, but you're completely right." He smiled once again at me and I just began to laugh. "Thank you for this talk, 'tachi. It... really helped me."

"Of course. You deserved to know the truth about how I felt. I didn't want you to be dwelling on negativity like you always do."

"You still know me so well."

"That I do, but I'm sure there's more to know than just how you used to be as a kid. I'd like to get to know the current you."

"I'd like to get to know the current you as well, 'tachi." He gave me a soft smile and I returned it tenfold. It was a nice moment, only to be ruined by the opening of the door. There stood Kisame, who'd most likely been listening in to the conversation the entire time. Itachi's smile instantly fell and he went back to being stoic.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I believe it's my turn to talk now. Itachi, you can stay for this. Only fair, since I listened in to you two talking." Kisame closed the door, walked over to us and sat down on a chair facing the couch Itachi and I was on.

"What do we have to talk about, Ki?"

"If I could feel love, I'd assume that's what I feel for you, Adryn." Those words shocked me. I wasn't expecting him to ever admit his feelings for me, especially not in front of another person.

"Kisame..." I didn't know what to say to him. It made my heart leap to hear such a thing, but he continued to talk, so I kept quiet about my feelings for now.

"You have always been honest to me about how you felt about everyone around you, so I already knew how much love you had for Itachi, despite not knowing it was him at the time. So, I knew that falling for someone like you was a bad idea, yet it happened anyway." He was speaking so differently than usual. It seemed like he was picking and choosing his words carefully. "So, that's why I decided to give up my feelings for you. Adryn, I want you any way I can have you, and if I can't be your lover, then I'll accept just being your friend, your... very best friend I suppose." He seemed a little hesitant to say something so childish, but it made my heart leap once again. I couldn't help but start to cry as I threw myself at him, shocking him and Itachi.

"Ki, thank you so much. I've been so scared I was going to lose you! I didn't want to lose my best friend over something like this." I had my arms wrapped around his neck and slowly felt him wrap his arms around me.

"I couldn't make you choose between me and Itachi, that wouldn't be fair for you. So this was the next best thing." I could hear the smile in his voice, but I could also hear the sadness that he must be feeling right now.

"I promise I'll be the best friend you've ever had!" I informed the blue man as I pulled away from him and put my feet back on the ground.

"I'll hold you to that promise for the rest of your life." Kisame released me and I returned to my seat next to the silent Itachi. I couldn't help but look at him to make sure everything was okay but was shocked at seeing a small smile on his face yet again. "What's that look for, Itachi?"

"I'm just... relieved that things worked out between the two of you," Itachi responded as he looked between Kisame and me.

"What are your feelings about all I said to her?"

"I didn't like hearing how you felt, it... bothered me for some reason." Itachi was being very honest today. He was starting to show his true side to his previous partner. That just caused Kisame to smile at Itachi.

"I felt the same way when I was listening to the two of you talking."

"So you heard everything?" I asked simply thinking of something.

"Of course, the door is thin. Strange personality change there, Itachi. You should be yourself more often, you'd have more friends if you did." I had a sense that Kisame already knew the real Itachi, so I decided to turn to Itachi and ask him something.

"Should we tell Kisame the truth about you? He seems like he'll be a trustworthy person, plus the two of you were so close before, he practically deserves to be told it." Itachi frowned deeply for a moment before nodding his head.

"The truth? What's going on?" Kisame seemed very confused. I walked over to the door and looked outside. There was no one there at all, so I turned back to them and began to talk.

"Well, Itachi is a lot nicer than he usually seems, for one."

"I could always tell he was more of a gentler person than I was," Kisame admitted as he smiled over what I said.

Itachi then began to explain the truth about himself. He explained that he killed his clan because they were plotting an uprising, had/still has a very deadly illness that resulted in his original death and truly was a gentler of a person than Kisame was.

"I see, well alright. That's something..." Kisame was a little taken aback by all the information thrown at him by Itachi. "That's also the longest amount of time I've ever heard you speak all at once."

"Is that really what you're focusing on?" I grumbled as I looked between Itachi and Kisame. Itachi just gave a small smile in return, while Kisame smiled a big toothy smile.

"Thank you for trusting me. I won't betray your trust."

"I know you won't, that isn't the kind of man you are," Itachi spoke once again, making me smile this time. However, the smile instantly turned to horror as Itachi began to violently cough. He covered his mouth as he coughed and I could see and smell the blood that he was coughing up. Kisame and I both watched in horror as we could do nothing for the man. He settled down after a minute of coughing and looked at his hand in disgust. There wasn't too much blood there, but there was enough to be concerned about.

"'tachi, are you alright? That was a bad one." I pulled out a tissue from my pocket and handed it to his non-bloody hand. He took it and cleaned up the blood.

"It's getting worse, faster than before."

"I hope Tsunade gets here soon. I'll go ask Sakura about it." With that, I left the room quickly, leaving two of the most important people to me alone in a room together. I sure hoped they actually got along while I wasn't there. However, that wasn't my main concern right now, so I practically ran through the mansion heading for Sakura. Eventually, I found her and Sasuke in the kitchen.

"Oh Adryn, what's the rush?" Sakura questioned when I burst into the room unexpectedly.

"Itachi is getting worse."

"Well, Lady Tsunade said she'd be here within a week. It's already been a day, so just 6 more to go. Well, this day's pretty much over, so 5."

"I need

to go see my brother." Sasuke declared simply before leaving the room. I just grumbled to myself and followed after him, with Sakura following after me.

"Sasuke, I need to tell you all about the new developments in my life!" I called after him, he slowed his walking down but didn't stop all the way. I then explained to him, and Sakura, because she was there, all about my talk with Itachi and then with Kisame. Hearing all that, caused Sasuke to stop walking and to turn around to face me.

"Itachi wants to get to know you and live his own life this time around?" Sasuke was summarizing all I'd said about his brother. He had a strange look on his face, before a small, barely there, smile appeared. "I wish you luck." He then turned around and began to walk again. "I always did want you and Itachi to get together." Hearing my very best friend say that, sent my heart soaring and made me giggle, which disgusted me very much.

"You alright there, Adryn?" Sakura was looking at me, worried due to my giggle.

"Pretend you never saw that," I muttered, causing her to just nod her head. She and I continued walking, this time it was side by side rather than her behind me. Sasuke had already left us altogether.

"So, Kisame Hoshigaki is in love with you. Never thought I'd hear the day that a monster like that could fall in love." I flinched at the monster part, but otherwise, I just smiled.

"He stopped me before I could say it, but I love him too. Just... not as much as I love Itachi. Which makes me seem like a horrible person. I feel so terrible about it."

"But he didn't make you pick one over the other. He chose to end anything with you, so you shouldn't feel bad. Besides, if it doesn't work out with Itachi, there's another guy there that loves you."

"If it doesn't work out with Itachi I don't know how I'll handle that. How about you and Sasuke? You've loved him for as long as I've loved Itachi. If you lost him..."

"I'd be..."

"Devastated." Both she and I spoke in unison. However, my tone was obvious to hear. It was full of devastation that I knew all too well. She looked at me and frowned.

"I completely forgot that you watched Itachi die. Adryn..." I just smiled at Sakura though.

"It's alright, Sakura. Well, it's not, but I'm okay. He's alive now. We're going to find a way to heal him. I won't lose him again."

"I'll do everything in my power to help you keep him alive."

"Thank you."

"What were you two talking about?" Sasuke questioned when we finally caught up with him. He hadn't entered the living room yet, he had waited for us.

"Nothing much." Sasuke didn't seem to believe me, but he just turned away from us and opened the door to reveal Itachi and Kisame just sitting on the couch talking to each other. They looked over and Kisame smirked.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long. I was thinking you ran away from us." Kisame teased as I pouted at him.

"I'd never run away from either of you. I just got caught up in talking with Sakura."

"Oh? I thought you two hated each other?"

"We got over that," Sakura noted simply. I just smiled at her and then watched as Sasuke approached his brother.

"Adryn told me you are getting worse. Why didn't you tell anyone when this started again?" Sasuke questioned with a little anger mixed in with the worry.

"At first, I just accepted that I would die again, however," Itachi paused and looked over at me and then back to Sasuke. "I realized I still had so much to live for."

"Hm. I see." Sasuke was a little hesitant to believe his brother, but he accepted Itachi's words anyway. "So, Adryn has given you a reason to live?"

"She helped me see that I have a chance to finally live my life the way that I want it to be." To Itachi's words, Sasuke let a small smile come onto his face and my face blushed slightly.

"It seems she had helped you, as much as you have helped her."

"Sasuke!" My blushing face disappeared and was replaced by annoyance.

"What does he mean by that?" Kisame questioned as he looked over at me.

"...I guess there is no point in hiding it. You're bound to find out eventually." I grumbled as I glared at Sasuke. He just looked away from me as if nothing was going on. "A little before all of you were revived, I was thinking about quitting being a ninja. Well... I was thinking about quitting life altogether."

"What?!" Not only was that Kisame's shocked response, but Itachi's and Sakura's as well. I jolted backward and looked to the ground to avoid their eyes.

"Adryn, what are you talking about? Why would you do something like that?" Kisame questioned after the initial shock wore off. I turned away from them and began to pace around the room.

"It's complicated, Ki. Everyone I've ever loved had died, most of my friends were starting lives of their own and leaving me behind, but mostly, I just wasn't happy. Every single day was a chore and it took so much effort to just wake up in the morning." I paused in my pacing to finally look Kisame in the eyes. "I just... It all felt pointless. I felt pointless. So I just wanted it all to end."

"Which was why I informed the Mizukage and she and Chojuro have watched over her in my place," Sasuke commented when I was done talking. "However, all of you coming back has brought life back into her. You all have given her a reason to live once again."

"Those feelings haven't gone away, Sasuke. They aren't just something you can switch on and off. I just... haven't been feeling as down as I usually do."

"You aren't still thinking about committing suicide, are you?" Itachi practically demanded. I looked at him a little shocked, but shook my head, no.

"Those thoughts are no longer in my head. I have to focus on saving you now."

"I...I am your reason to live?"

"Brother, you always have been her reason to live," Sasuke admitted for me before I could say anything else. I just blushed and looked back to the floor.

"I mean, I have had other loves during my lifetime. They all were my reasons to live."

"Who else have you loved?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Well, other than the ones in this room, I loved 2 more. A man named Ao, and a girl named Nova."

"Girl?!" Kisame and Sakura shockingly blurted out. My face went completely red and I coughed before talking further.

"Well, I gave up on guys after Ao died in the war. So, I decided to try girls and I found one I loved. However, she committed suicide right in front of me."

"That's terrible, Adryn. Why would she do that?" It was Sakura once again.

"She was one of my father's test subjects and she was unhappy with what she had become, but that's irrelevant now. I've mostly moved past that."

"Adryn has suffered much loss in her life, that's why we are so close, we understand each other," Sasuke explained once I was done talking once again.

"I never went insane though, as you did," I commented instantly looking over to him. "I mean you even tried to kill me at one point."

"I apologized for that." Sasuke immediately blurted out.

"An 'I'm sorry' isn't always good enough, Sasuke!" I was scolding him now, which caused Kisame to laugh.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two loved each other."

"Well after being in each other's lives this long, there better be some form of love. He's practically my brother."

"I always thought of you as a mother figure," Sasuke admitted, causing me to smile at him.

"You're so adorable!" I hugged him, making him freeze and stiffen up. "Oh come on! One hug won't kill you!" That caused Sakura and Kisame to laugh, while Itachi just watched us with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Adryn." It was Itachi who'd spoken up, causing me to pull away from Sasuke and everyone to look at him.

"For what?"

"For taking care of Sasuke all these years when I could not."

"Of course, 'tachi. I'll always take care of him, even when he's an old man." I just smiled at the man I loved as he gently smiled back up at me.

"I sometimes forget that you are immortal. You will outlive all of us, won't you?" Kisame questioned with a little hint of something like sadness in there.

"Unfortunately, unless I can find a way to undo the immortality that I have."

"How were you going to kill yourself anyway, now that I think about it."

"I have no idea. I never did figure out that one. I guessed acid or something. I'd have to get help from my father."

"I thought Orochimaru was dead."

"Sasuke brought him back to life. It's complicated. He now looks much younger than all of us." Before anyone else could speak, the door was flung open.

"The fuck are you fucks doing in here?! Having some type of meeting?"

"Bitch we might be!" I snapped instantly turning to face him.

"Don't antagonize him!" Kakuzu snapped right after me.

"Don't tell me what to do, Kuzu." His eyes narrowed and I could feel the murderous intent radiating off of him. I managed to piss him off, great. Instantly, Itachi and Kisame were standing and by my side protectively, with Sasuke and Sakura standing in front of me.

"I won't hurt her. I'd never hurt her." Kakuzu noted as he calmed down.

"Bullshit! You hurt me many times during our time together!" I yelled out in disbelief.

"That was only during sex and that was many years ago. You are no longer interesting to me." I was greatly offended, causing me to gasp.

"Rude!"

"Do you want him to still be interested in you or what bitch?!" Hidan snapped, joining in on this conversation. I instantly started bickering back to him, leaving Hidan no choice but to bicker right back at me.

"Oh god, don't tell me that you love her too, Hidan?" Sakura gasped out in horror.

"Nah, Hidan totally loves Kuzu." My single comment caused Hidan to blow his top and turn completely red before sputtering out something unintelligible and running out of the room.

"What... What just happened?"

"I told you. Hidan loves Kuzu and he just doesn't want him

to know. However, Kuzu completely feels the same way about Hidan. It's a fucked up and rough relationship the two have, but it's true love."

"Stop daydreaming your gay fantasies Adryn." Kakuzu snapped before leaving the room.

"I'm totally right though."

"You just might be, I've never seen Hidan react like that before. I thought he'd attack us for sure, but he ran away."

"I always thought they were good together." Kisame laughed patting me on the back. I nearly fell over, but Itachi caught me.

"Thanks, 'tachi." I smiled up at him, making him smile back at me softly. I wasn't sure how everything was going to go from here on out, but as long as Itachi kept smiling at me like that, I'm sure things would be fine.


	5. Treatment

It's been about a week later now. Everything had gone mostly well. Hidan refuses to be in the same room as me and Kakuzu is always angry whenever he sees me. On a good note though, I was growing closer to Itachi and was getting to know the true him better as he got to know me. Kisame and I were still close as well, possibly even closer than we were before. It was nice spending my time with them. However, most importantly, Tsunade finally was set to arrive today.

As soon as I woke up, I got dressed in my usual outfit and then headed out to the mansion with the criminals in it. I call them criminals, but most of them stopped being a criminal by the time they died, but whatever. Anyway, as soon as I entered the door, Kisame was there waiting for me.

"What's up, Ki?" I questioned when I saw the worried look on his usually calm face.

"Itachi got worse last night. He coughed up a lot of blood by this morning. There were many coughing fits." Kisame responded simply as he began to walk to where Itachi was. I followed closely and was beginning to worry more than I'd been worrying before. What if Itachi got so sick we couldn't save him? However, my thoughts of doom were broken by hearing Itachi coughing. Kisame and I quickly rushed into the living room, which was where Itachi was now and made our way to his side. A few other Akatsuki were in there as well. They were Obito, Nagato, and Konan and they all looked very worried about Itachi.

"Itachi..." I muttered as I put my hand on his back to try to heal him somewhat. I just wanted to try to take some of the pain away and relieve some of the strain on his body, and it seemed to work, as his coughing slowed down to nothing, faster than usual. "Itachi, just hold on, Tsunade will be here soon." I looked at him with worried eyes and he just looked back up at me with pain in his eyes.

"Tsunade is here now." Came Sakura's voice from behind Kisame. I turned to see Sakura standing in the doorway, with Tsunade standing behind her. She still looked young, as expected and she had a look of disgust when she looked at me. I instantly stood up and took a step away from Itachi. I was now standing next to Kisame, who looked at me with confusion. I just shook my head and watched as Tsunade moved to Itachi.

"Can you move to the infirmary?" Tsunade questioned as she reached Itachi. He nodded his head and got up, losing his balance for a moment before standing straight up. Tsunade turned to Sakura and spoke to her this time. "Take me to the infirmary." Sakura just nodded her head and began to walk. I instantly followed them, but Tsunade turned to speak to me. "Stay here."

"No, Itachi is my patient and friend. I'm coming with you. I can be of help, I have medical training as well." I responded strongly but still a little wary. I knew that Tsunade didn't like me one bit. Orochimaru never got her permission to use her DNA to make me. So I was the child she never wanted with the man who used to be her teammate. I was just a bad reminder of the past to her.

"Very well. However, he has to stay here." Tsunade spoke as she looked at Kisame.

"As long as Itachi has proper medical attention, I won't interfere." The large blue man retorted as he looked at the former Hokage. She nodded her head and began to follow Sakura. I walked right next to Itachi, keeping an eye on him.

"Are you alright? Are you sure you can walk all the way there?" I asked him with worry clear in my voice. He simply turned to me and gave me a small smile.

"Don't worry about me, Adryn. I'll be fine." Itachi spoke as he kept the smile on his face.

"You are dying, Itachi, you might not be fine."

"I trust that you all will find a way to cure me." I was a little shocked at that.

"You trust us?"

"Of course. After all, you promised you wouldn't let me leave this world again due to my illness. I trust you most of all, Adryn." To that, my face went completely red.

"What's the deal with them?" Tsunade questioned Sakura as she eyed me and Itachi.

"She loves him with all her heart. He is giving her a chance to see if he will fall in love with her. However, Sasuke and I are pretty sure they should just get together already and stop dancing around things." Sakura simply responded with a smile on her face.

"Hey! We can hear you!" I gasped out, still blushing completely red. "And we aren't dancing around anything, it's just..." I trailed off, not able to find what I was trying to say.

"It's just complicated." Itachi finished for me as he looked at the ground.

"It wouldn't be so complicated if you'd just..." Sakura just sighed instead of finishing. "Anyway, we're here." Sakura finally spoke up as she pushed open a door. We all went inside, with Itachi climbing onto the patient's bed without being told to. It seemed like he'd just known that was where he was supposed to go.

So, that allowed Tsunade to just dive right into it. A bunch of tests and medical bullshit later, Tsunade, Sakura and I all concluded. They voted me to tell our conclusion to Itachi, who'd just been sitting there listening in on our conversation, not fully knowing what we were talking about. So, with as much calmness I could muster up, I turned to the man I loved.

"Alright Itachi, we have reached a diagnosis." I started as I kept up my calmness. He could see right through it though.

"It's nothing good, is it?" Itachi questioned simply with a frown on his face. He was expecting the worst. So I smiled at him softly.

"It's not as bad as you're thinking. However, Tsunade cannot heal you. Not completely at least. She thinks that she can heal you enough to reverse some of the effects, along with taking some medication once again. Even so, you will have to work up your chakra reserves and stamina by training again."

"So I'll have to be back on medication?" Itachi seemed to be conflicted over that and was now looking at the ground. I moved to be in his view and smiled up at him.

"Now, now, 'tachi, you want to stay alive, right? Then, for now, that means being on medication, and maybe being healed in a particular way every so often. Tsunade will show me how to heal you so she doesn't always have to be here. If you ever start getting worse, we can just heal you again or give you stronger medication."

"Do you know what medication I will be on?"

"Hmm. Not yet. Actually, we're going to make it. Specifically for you." I stood back up straight again and turned to the other two women. "So, should we get started on that medication? I have a lot of various herbs in my garden, those might help."

"You have a garden?" Sakura questioned in surprise. I just chuckled at her.

"I don't take care of it though, but it is at my home."

"Of course," Sakura stated before turning away to address Tsunade. "Thank you for coming here, milady. We greatly appreciate your willingness to help a former criminal."

"A patient is a patient. Besides, I know the truth about him anyway." Tsunade responded simply.

"Seriously? Who told you?"

"Kakashi did." Sakura seemed to find that acceptable and just nodded her head. "So, how is your relationship going with Sasuke?" That seemed to blindside the pink-haired girl and she began to turn red and sputter nonsense.

"I'd like to know that as well. How is your relationship with my brother going? He refuses to tell me anything about it." It was Itachi, now looking at Sakura with hopeful eyes.

"Well, it's going good. He's gone most of the time, atoning for all he'd done when he was... insane. However, I know he loves me and he tries to write to me or visit the village every now and then." Sakura finally responded when she was calm once again.

"I see." Itachi couldn't help but smile at that. He seemed almost relieved at hearing the pink-haired girl's words.

"Sasuke might not act like it, but he genuinely loves Sakura." I decided to point out with a smile on my face. Itachi looked at me and gave me a small smile back.

"I'm glad he was able to overcome his hatred and find someone to love."

"I'm glad and surprised that Sakura could forgive him for him being such an asshole to her for all those years."

"I love him, so I could forgive him easily. I know he was going through a lot, so he wasn't completely himself during those times. If anything, I'm surprised you never held too much of a grudge against him for him trying to kill you."

"Yeah, well, as you said, he wasn't himself. I couldn't hold it against him when he was going through such a tough time. I knew that I just needed to be there for him."

"You really do care about my little brother, don't you?" Itachi was now fully smiling at me. It caught me off guard and caused me to blush.

"Yeah well, he means a lot to me. He's practically family to me."

"Alright, enough of this." Tsunade suddenly spoke up interrupting my conversation with Itachi. "Adryn, take me and Sakura to your herb garden. To make Itachi's medication we need to start there."

"Alright." I then turned my attention to Itachi. "I guess go find Kisame and let him know what's going on if you want to. At least go find him, you shouldn't be alone while you are so sick. Just in case."

"Very well. I will go find Kisame." Itachi then hopped down and left the room. Once I knew he was far enough away, I turned to Tsunade.

"Do you actually think we can save him? I don't want to get anyone's hopes up and then we not be able to save him."

"I believe we can save his life. I wouldn't give anyone any false hope." Tsunade spoke as she looked me straight in the eyes. I just nodded my head and began to lead them to where my little garden was.

It wasn't as small of a garden as I make it seem. It has most herbs in there that can be grown in this part of the world. Both Tsunade and Sakura were shocked when they saw it. However, their shock quickly wore off and we all began to hunt down what we needed. There were a few

herbs that we couldn't find that we needed, but there were enough of them that they would be alright. Along with that, we had to raid the main headquarters' infirmary to find the medicine that we needed to mix with the herbs.

So, a few days and a lot of work later, we had the first doses of Itachi's medication. I was taught how to make it, so Tsunade could return to her life. All that was left to do was have Tsunade heal Itachi, well heal him as best as she could, which would help slightly and then teach me how to heal him. It was difficult to learn and it pushed my medical skills, but eventually, I figured out how to do it.

"So now, take your medication, if you start to cough again, have Adryn heal you. That should keep the cough at bay. It isn't a perfect cure, but we will keep working at it." Tsunade informed Itachi as we all sat in the living room together. "We all" meaning, me, Itachi, Tsunade, Sakura, Kisame, and Sasuke. It was now finally time for Tsunade to leave, so she was informing us of any last things that she could think of. "Also, I don't think I need to say this, but do not tire yourself out too much. Training is important for you now but in moderation. Do not overwork your body. You are still dying, just dying slower than you were."

"What if he reacts to the medication negatively?" Sasuke questioned after Tsunade was done with talking. She instantly replied to him.

"He's already taken the medication for three days now, if he was going to have a negative reaction, he would have already or it would be starting now."

"Hmm." Sasuke seemed to accept that started looking to his brother now. It was like he was silently asking if there was anything that was different about him or if there was any type of reaction now.

"I feel better than I have in a while, and there have been no reactions negatively," Itachi answered his brother's silent question. Sasuke nodded his head and kept silent. I had a question though, so I spoke up.

"How long do you think this medication will last him? How long will it take for his body to become accustomed to it?"

"I am not sure, but I know it will happen." Tsunade's words were vague, but I just nodded my head. "Watch over him closely, Adryn."

"You don't need to tell me that, I already planned to." She looked at me for a moment before turning to her student. The two of them began to say their goodbyes as I turned to Itachi. I had been sitting on the couch next to him with Kisame on my other side. "Is it alright that I plan to keep an eye on you?"

"I'd be worried if you didn't." I knew Itachi was meaning that since I was in love with him, it'd be weird if I didn't keep an eye on him. I just smiled at him and watched as he slightly smiled back to me.

After a few minutes, Tsunade was gone. She had to return to her life of gambling and alcohol. While we were left to sit there in the living room, not really knowing what to do now.

"So, how is Itachi supposed to train if we can't go outside the mansion?" Kisame suddenly questioned breaking the silence.

"I'll ask Lady Mizukage if he and someone else can train together just outside the mansion," I responded after a few moments of contemplation.

"I would like to get a chance to train too. Being trapped in here is giving me anxiety." Kisame flashed me a smile and I just looked at him and sighed.

"I'll see what I can do." With that, I stood up and headed out of the room. I made it to about the entrance hall when I walked right into someone. "Ouch," I grumbled as I rubbed my nose. This all felt familiar, and I began to wonder if I've bumped into the same person as I did before. However, when I looked up I was met with purple-eyes. "Oh, Hidan, I'm sorry, I was in a rush." Instead of responding to me, Hidan just continued walking. There was no "watch it bitch" like I was expecting.

I wrote it off as him just acting weird. Maybe he was still trying to avoid me. Or maybe something was actually wrong. Either way, I needed to just go ask Lady Mizukage about the Itachi training situation. One thing at a time, I liked to tell myself. So with the Hidan issue out of my mind, I hurried off to the Kage. It didn't take long, but when I entered the room with the Kage in there, my Kage wasn't there.

"Um, excuse me, where is Lady Mizukage?" Even Chojuro wasn't there. I was a little worried.

"She wasn't feeling well, so the kid took her back to her room to rest." Lord Tsuchikage responded in his usual annoyed sounding tone.

"Oh..." I wasn't sure what to do now.

"Was there something you needed, Adryn?" Lord Hokage questioned making me turn my head to him.

"Well, Tsunade just informed us of Itachi's condition."

"She informed us as well. Was there something about it that you needed to talk about?"

"No, well yes. Itachi needs to train, so I was hoping that you all would let him leave the mansion for short periods of time to do so. Sakura and I would be watching over him and whoever he trains with closely, so they wouldn't be able to escape."

"No." Lord Tsuchikage said just as Lord Hokage spoke, "Alright."

"Lord Hokage, they are dangerous criminals. They shouldn't leave the mansion at all. Itachi should just be happy that we are giving him medical attention."

"Itachi needs to train or else in battle he might actually die due to his low chakra reserves and stamina." I snapped at the older man. He looked at me with anger in his eyes at me snapping at him.

"Now, now, Lord Tsuchikage, Adryn makes a great point. We were wanting to use the Akatsuki to fight for us anyway, if Itachi can't fight, then he might hold everyone else back." Lord Hokage commented simply. "Adryn, have Itachi and one person leave the mansion for an hour a day. Watch over them closely. Do not let them escape."

"I don't think they want to escape anyway, but alright. I'll do my very best."

"Doing your best might not be enough. Make sure they don't escape!" Lord Raikage grumbled at me.

"Yes, sir!" I responded officially before bowing to them all. Once I did that I left the room. However, as I left I heard Lord Kazekage speak.

"You are too hard on her. She is one of the Mist's best ninja. You shouldn't treat her like that." I couldn't help but smile and mentally thank Lord Kazekage for that. I didn't hear anything else, because I had already walked too far away, but that's probably for the best.

So, with a smile on my face, I quickly made my way back to the mansion. Once I got in there and greeted the ANBU there, I informed them of Lord Hokage's ruling. Once they believed me, I hurried off to where Itachi was. I could sense him somewhere near the kitchen. Possibly in the living room that was just off the kitchen. On my way there, I came across Kakuzu just standing in the hallway.

"Kuzu, is everything alright?" I questioned to no avail. He didn't respond to me or even acknowledge that I was there. Just like Hidan had done. So, I now knew that something odd was going on. However, I quickly made my way passed him and went into the kitchen. "Hey 'tachi, is it just me, or are Hidan and Kuzu acting weird?" The Uchiha man turned from the sink he was at and thought it over, before shaking his head.

"I don't think they are acting weird. They are probably still angry with you." Itachi finally responded, however, he then continued to speak. "However, there is something weird going on."

"What is it?" My anxiety instantly raised up to a level 8.

"I just saw two people wandering around the mansion. They were just looking at the mansion but when they met my eyes, they fled into the forest." You see, the mansion is surrounded by forest on all sides. Along with that, there were ANBU stationed all around the mansion. So if people were walking around it, they would know.

"Seriously? Well, that's odd. The ANBU didn't tell me that any strange people were walking around when I entered and I didn't see anyone when I was out there, but if you say there were people, then there were."

"Thank you for believing me. That is exactly what Kisame had said to me." I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"That man truly believes in you, doesn't he?" Itachi smiled softly at that.

"I'm glad I have two people who trust me so much."

"Sasuke trusts you as well. He's just always been a bit difficult."

"Yes, that is true."

"Anyway, Itachi, I have news for you." Finally getting onto the point I'd originally come to the mansion to tell, I informed Itachi of what I'd been told by Lord Hokage. He seemed happy as he continued to smile.

"That is good to hear. When can I start training?"

"Right now, if you want to. I already told the ANBU and they should be telling the others right about now. Go find Kisame and we'll go outside now."

"Very well." Itachi then hurried, yes hurried, out of the room to go find his friend. I couldn't help but just smile at that. However, my smile faded when I heard a voice from the other doorway.

"You love him an awful lot, don't you, kid?" I turned around to see Sasori and Deidara standing there.

"Oh, hello, and yes, I do," I responded with a smile on my face again.

"How could you love a murderer like that, un?" Deidara demanded annoyed as usual when it came to an Uchiha.

"I can't tell you. It's a secret." I smirked at them and then quickly made my way out of the room. I could hear Sasori grumbling about me as I left and Deidara agreeing with him for once. I just shook my head and went to go and find Itachi and Kisame. I was eager to watch them train together and to see how well Itachi could do even though he was still sick. The only time I'd ever seen him fight, recently, was when he fought again Sasuke and then I wasn't able to just focus on his fighting, I was panicking too much. So, this time I planned to focus on his movements and maybe I could copy them if I tried hard enough. This would be a good training time for me as well.


	6. Attacked

Eventually, I found Itachi and Kisame in Kisame's bedroom, which was practically right with Itachi's bedroom. Kisame's door was open, so I peeked my head in before fully walking in. The two men were there talking to each other about something that I couldn't catch. It was nice seeing them talking like old friends. It made me glad that they had each other in this difficult and strange time. I was getting lost in thought again, however, a voice brought me out of my thoughts finally.

"Hey, Adryn, come on in," Kisame called out when he noticed me, which was right away. "Itachi just found me and explained the situation. I'm definitely ready to fight!"

"You are going to train with him, not kill him, alright?" I was a little wary of Kisame training with Itachi, only because he was so much larger and probably more physically powerful than Itachi was. I didn't need the man I loved getting squashed like a bug.

"Don't worry, I was just kidding. I know that it's only training." Kisame got up from his bed and flashed me a smile. It made me smile back at him, but mine was a wary smile.

"Before we leave, I have to find Sakura. She'll be the other one watching over you two, making sure you don't run away." I explained as I fully moved into the room rather than just peaking in from the doorway.

"I see, that's no fun. Like little pinky can even stop us if we wanted to run away."

"You shouldn't underestimate her, she's powerful," I responded simply before turning away from them. "Though, you probably are right about that." I sighed and began to walk out of the room. I could hear Kisame and Itachi following behind me as I walked through the hallway. I instantly knew where Sakura was, it was just trying to get there was the difficult part. I had to ask Itachi to guide us to where she was, which was in the living room with Sasuke. "They better not be doing anything inappropriate in there."

"You say that like you've caught them being inappropriate before," Itachi commented a little wary of my answer.

"I have. I made the mistake of showing up at an Orochimaru hideout while she was there with Sasuke..."

"Oh boy, I bet that fucked you up." Kisame couldn't hold back that comment, nor his laughter any further. So I swung around and smacked him on the arm with my face completely red.

"Don't joke, it has fucked me up, no one needs to see that much of someone they think of as a brother!" Kisame just kept laughing making me angrily turn back to face Itachi who was grimacing at the thought of what I'd said. "Let's go, I sense someone else in there with them, so I'm sure they aren't naked or doing anything."

"Alright, good," Itachi responded simply as he began to walk once again with me and Kisame following closely behind him. We entered the living room to see Obito in there with Sasuke and Sakura.

"Oh, hello," Sakura muttered as she noticed us. Sasuke and Obito were clearly in a heated conversation and were standing just a foot from each other.

"What's going on?" My sister mode was instantly kicked in and my worrying began again.

"Sasuke and I were just discussing old times," Obito responded as he backed down and turned towards me. "I was just leaving." He then did as he said and left the room, heading into the kitchen.

"You alright?" I asked as I approached Sasuke. He just nodded his head and turned to Sakura.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Sasuke spoke to his girlfriend simply.

"It's alright, Sasuke," Sakura responded before standing up and turning to me, Itachi, and Kisame. "What was it that you three needed?" I then explained the situation to her and she just nodded her head.

"Can I join you?" Sasuke questioned as he looked to me. I just smiled at him.

"Of course you can," I spoke knowing that it would be alright. "Do you want to watch or join in the training?"

"Both."

"I see." I couldn't help but chuckle at him, but then turned around and walked out the door. "Well, let's get going before night falls. It is getting rather late." As I walked out of the room, the rest of them followed me. I quickly led them to the door but were stopped by one of the ANBU.

"We will be watching over you closely, do not try to run away. Understand?" The ANBU man had spoken to Itachi and Kisame. The two just nodded their heads and then we were allowed outside. Instantly, I began to get a bad feeling, but not wanting to ruin it for Itachi I kept it to myself, however, I noticed that Sasuke was feeling the same thing as I was.

"Alright, first, both of you do some warming up. Don't jump right into training with each other. Neither of you has fought or trained in a while. No injuries of any kind are allowed. Got it?"

"Of course," Itachi responded for himself and Kisame. The two of them then descended into warming up their bodies. Sasuke joined in on them however it wasn't long until Itachi and Kisame started to spar together. Just taijutsu was enough for them for a little while. After about 20 minutes, they turned to me and Itachi spoke what was on their minds. "Can we get a kunai for each of us?"

"I... I didn't ask about weapons, but sure, as long as you don't kill each other. Like I said, no injuries."

"Very well." I pulled out a kunai for each of them, meaning for Itachi, Kisame and Sasuke. He wasn't pleased with having to use a kunai instead of his sword, but he dealt with it and joined in their little fight now. So it was a one-on-one fight between three of them. Sakura and I just watched them with smiles on our faces. We were glad that they were enjoying themselves.

Of course, after about another 30 minutes of that, they were finished with Itachi coming out as the winner. It was good that they finished then, as the ANBU were going to come out any minute now to tell us to get back inside. However, that was when I felt that bad feeling once again. This time, however, everyone else felt it too.

"Get back to the mansion!" I ordered everyone. They all began to follow my orders but were stopped by men jumping out of the forest and landing in front of us. There were now 3 men standing between us and the mansion. It seemed like none of the ANBU knew at all, as no one acted right away. "What do you people want and who are you?!" I yelled out to them as I pulled the Kiba out from their resting place. Black lightning began to flow around me as I built up chakra to fight.

"If we kill you, it would destroy their plans. So we must do this, Adryn." One of the men stated before lunging at me. I was shocked but swung my right arm to bring the lightning imbued sword down on the man with speed that he couldn't dodge. He was knocked into the ground instantly, falling unconscious.

"So... Was this attack supposed to hurt me or what? Cause I don't think this is going to go your way..." I muttered as the other two began to launch their attacks. They just lunged at me with swords. However, I sidestepped both of them and hit them both with the Kiba, resulting in them being knocked out as well. "What... What just happened?" I was a little confused now.

"These are the two men that I saw outside of the mansion earlier. The other one I did not see." Itachi spoke up as I put the Kiba back away. I felt a little bad at using them on people like that. It seemed like they had no actual ninja experience.

"I see. Itachi, Kisame, you two get back inside. Sakura, Sasuke and I will take these men to the Kage for interrogating."

"Alright. Let's go, Itachi." Kisame began to walk back to the mansion with Itachi following behind him. Once they were inside, the three of us picked up a man and began the slightly long walk to the Kage's temporary home. Once we got there, we dropped the men off in a room with ANBU watching over them. I then went to informed the Kage of what happened, and this time, Lady Mizukage was in there.

"Oh hello Adryn, fancy seeing you here. I thought you would be training with Itachi." It was Lady Mizukage who'd spotted me first and had to say words that she knew would irritate me slightly. She wasn't wrong though, it was just how she said it in that teasing tone of hers.

"I was just watching him train, however, something happened. Three men came from the forest and attacked us." I explained what the one had said and that they only lunged at me with swords, showing that they didn't have too much ninja experience if they had any.

"I see. Was anyone hurt?"

"Other than the three who attacked us, no."

"You didn't kill them did you?!" Lord Tsuchikage called out to me. I just glared at him and shook my head.

"Of course I didn't. They need to tell us who sent them. The ANBU are watching over them and awaiting your orders."

"Good. Chojuro, go give them the orders to interrogate them." Lady Mizukage spoke to her subordinate. He nodded his head and then left the room. "Adryn, there is something we need to tell you. I think it's time for you to know."

"What is it?" I walked over to her and stood next to her to listen to her story.

"We are at war again. However, this time it is a civil war."

"Excuse me, what?"

"There is a faction growing within our country that wants us to go back to the Blood Mist Village ways. They are most likely the ones who stole your eyes and used them to bring back the Akatsuki."

"Wait, what?" I was so confused. I hadn't heard anything about this at all. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You didn't need to know until now."

"I see. I guess I understand... Wait I don't. You say that I am your left-hand woman, yet you keep me in the dark?! How long have you known about the faction?!"

"Half a year now. A little before the first Akatsuki member was revived." Lady Mizukage looked away from me then. "I understand that you are upset with me. I should never have kept this from you, however, you were too close to the Akatsuki. We were all worried that this would affect you negatively."

"I see..." I just turned away from her and walked out, ignoring her protests for me to stop. I instantly headed back to the mansion and went to find Itachi and Kisame. I passed Sasuke and Sakura, who'd already returned to the mansion on my way and informed them of the situation. Once I found Itachi and Kisame, who were now in Itachi's room, I told them the same thing.

"So, you had no idea? Why wouldn't she have told you?" Kisame questioned once I was done talking.

"She said she thought it would affect me negatively if I knew," I responded as I leaned against the now-closed door. Both men were sitting on Itachi's bed. "So, how was training, despite that ending?"

"It felt good to move around like that again," Kisame responded first as Itachi thought about his answer.

"It indeed felt good to move around like that again, especially without the feeling of being held back." Itachi finally responded after a few moments of thought.

"Is that how it felt for you when you were alive before?"

"Yes. Everything felt heavy and it was sometimes hard to move with the pain I was going through. The only time I ever got relief was when I was reanimated."

"God Itachi, I'm sorry..." I instantly felt terrible that he'd been suffering all that time like that.

"It's-"

"Don't say it's alright, because it isn't and you know that."

"Come on Itachi, don't argue with the girl who loves you. She'll win the argument anyway." Kisame jokingly added into our conversation, trying to bring everything back into a lighter atmosphere.

"I know, she was always winning arguments with Shisui." Itachi smiled fondly at the memory and I found myself smiling with him.

"Well, I'll leave you two to whatever you were doing before. I have to go get some food. I don't think I ate at all today." I finally spoke up as I turned to open the closed door.

"Thank you again Adryn, for everything."

"You don't need to thank me, 'tachi. I'd do anything for you." I flashed him a quick smile before leaving the room and closing the door behind me. Then my face blossomed into a full blush due to my words. I quickly made my way away from Itachi's room as I headed towards the kitchen. On my way there, I came across Hidan just standing in the hallway, right in the middle of it with a kitchen knife in his hand. I wasn't even sure how he got a hold of a knife anyway. The mansion didn't have any due to the worry that someone would kill someone else. "What the..." At my gasped out words, Hidan looked up at me. I could instantly tell he was in a genjutsu.

Hidan instantly lunged at me, making me dodge and collide with the hallway wall with enough force to dent the wall. He then came at me again, causing me to grab his wrist and twist it as I kicked out his feet from beneath him causing him to fall to the ground. I pinned him down and sensed around me to find the nearest person, which happened to be Obito in the kitchen.

"Hey, Obito, can you come out here?" I called out, just loud enough for him to hear me from the kitchen. He surprisingly listened to me and left the kitchen to see me pinning the knife-wielding Hidan.

"What is going on here?" Obito questioned instantly, however, he could also tell Hidan was under genjutsu, therefore his question was answered. "How could someone do this?"

"My eyes. They can remote attack people with genjutsu. If they've come in contact with someone, no matter where they are, they can control people." I quickly explained as I wrestled with Hidan a bit. He was fighting back against me. "Just help me hold him down so I can do something!" Obito listened to me instantly and helped me hold the man down. I was then able to grab his face and activate my Sharingan. Another one of my abilities was that I was able to trace someone else's genjutsu to find out who cast it. So, that's just what I did. I used Hidan's mind link to find whoever had my eyes. I could see through Hidan's eyes and see who had my eyes, and it caused me to jolt away and fall to the ground in shock.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"It's... nothing. Just let me dispel the jutsu now." I shook my head and looked back into Hidan's eyes, effectively breaking the genjutsu controlling him.

"Hey! What's fucking going on here! Why are you holding me down you fuck?!" Hidan instantly began to yell at us. Obito immediately released him and allowed Hidan to stand up.

"You were being controlled, Hidan." I tried to explain, but he was already cussing me out.

"Fuck you, bitch. I bet you were controlling me you sick fuck! You just can't help but keep everyone under you, can't you!" Hidan yelled back, causing me to stand up and snap altogether.

"HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT UP YOU FUCKING IDIOT! YOU WERE JUST BEING CONTROLLED BY SOMEONE! I WAS TRYING TO HELP YOU!" I screamed before spinning around and leaving the mansion altogether. I could hear other members of the Akatsuki coming out from wherever they were due to my voice, but I ignored everyone and made my way to my home. I couldn't handle being around people, not at that moment. I knew that I needed to tell someone, but I just couldn't do anything at that moment.

My legs managed to get me out of sight of the mansion before they collapsed under me sending me into the dirt. Thankfully I just fell to my knees but unfortunately, I began to cry. I hadn't cried since I heard that Kisame was dead. So it's been a while, but there I was crying like a brokenhearted child. Well, at that moment, I was heartbroken. The person I saw, the one who had my eyes, was none other than my former lover, Ao.

Instead of heading home, I made my way to the Kage instead. I was now calmed down externally but internally I was still freaking out. It took me probably a half hour to calm down, leaving me in total darkness but I managed to find my way back to them. Once I got there, I made my way to their room to find only Lord Hokage and Lord Kazekage in there, chatting with each other.

"Adryn, what's wrong?" Lord Hokage instantly questioned when he spotted me. It took all my sanity to not break down there again. Instead, I informed them of the attack and how I dealt with it, leaving out the part that I knew who had my eyes now.

"Surely that's not why you are covered in dirt and were obviously crying, correct?" Lord Kazekage commented as he looked me over.

"I was able to see who was controlling him. It was Ao. One of the Mist's ninjas who was thought to have died in the war. That is why I was crying." I simply explained as I fought tears once again.

"Ao... You were in a relationship with him, were you not?" Lord Hokage questioned having clearly gossiped with Lady Mizukage before. I just nodded my head.

"Ao now has my eyes and is fighting against us. He clearly wanted me dead or at least hurt. He... The man I knew would never... He wouldn't..." I trailed off as I took Lady Mizukage's seat. I couldn't find it in me to stand any longer.

"You rest up, Adryn. I'll go gather the other Kage and inform them of what happened." Lord Hokage spoke as he stood up from his seat. I nodded my head and let my head gently fall against the table in front of me. It was hard to keep up appearances in front of the remaining Kage. I just knew that I couldn't cry. It wasn't something I was willing to do. I thought I missed crying before, but now that I remember it, I don't miss it anymore.

"Are you going to be alright?" I heard Lord Kazekage question. I lifted my head to look at him. He was just right across from me. He could see the look in my eyes and could understand that the answer was no, I was not going to be alright, at least not anytime soon.

"I should really get going..." I mumbled simply as I heard the footsteps of a few more people begin to approach. I wanted to get out of there before lady Mizukage arrived, but as I stood up, I wobbled on my feet and nearly fell over. By the time I caught myself, the other Kage were entering the room. Lady Mizukage instantly made her way over to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm so sorry that you were attacked again, Adryn! However, I'm more sorry that it had been Ao this whole time." Lady Mizukage spoke to me in a sad voice.

"You didn't know, right? Please tell me that you didn't know Ao was the one behind this..." I was close to crying again, but I held it all in.

"I knew there was a possibility that he was still alive, but I never thought he'd go against us like this." I instantly pulled away from her and glared up at her.

"What do you mean, you knew he could have been alive?"

"His body was never found, so we knew that it was at least a possibility."

"Why didn't you tell me! He was my lover! We were going to get married! We even..." I trailed off as my voice cracked and the tears began to fall again. I took a step away from her and turned to leave as the tears kept falling.

"I'm so sorry Adryn, I just..." She couldn't find the words or didn't want to say them as I left the room. I trudged along the path that led me to my home. It was completely dark, so I wasn't entirely sure where I was going as I didn't feel like really looking up at the surroundings, but eventually, I found my home. As soon as I reached it, I entered, not bothering to close the door behind me. I collapsed on the bed and fell right to dwell on all I'd learned today.

I couldn't believe that Ao was alive. I couldn't believe that he would turn against us. He was always so loyal. It was horrifying that a man like that could start an uprising to bring back the old days. I just had a hard time believing it. Even though I'd seen him with my own eyes through Hidan. It was just so difficult for me. How could the man I love turn against me like this and send multiple people to kill me? More than anything, it just hurt. I felt my heart begin to break. There really was nothing like the feeling of betrayal. It hurt worse than when I heard that Kisame had died. It hurt so bad that I just wanted to crawl under a rock and just die there.

However, I knew that I shouldn't dwell on it any longer, so I slowly began to fall into a dreamless and restless sleep.


	7. Heartbroken

I didn't leave my bed for an entire day. Chojuro came to check on me, but I remained under my covers the entire time. I only responded with one-word replies as well. It was clear that he was worried about me, but I didn't care at that moment. I just knew my whole world had just been blown up and everything now seemed like a lie to me. I couldn't even gather up the courage to go and tell Itachi and the others what I'd found out. Finally, Lady Mizukage had enough of my sulking. She sent the one person I couldn't turn away to me. She sent Sasuke.

"Adryn, we heard about what you found out last night, but you can't stay in bed forever," Sasuke informed me as he stood in my room. I just looked at him and didn't respond. "Come one, get out of there." Sasuke reached for me, but I smacked his hand away. "Don't make me do what I had to do last time." The last time he was referring to was when Itachi died and I locked myself in a hideout for days on end. I refused to eat or drink anything and I just stayed in bed crying for all that time. Sasuke had to finally get water and throw it on me to force me out of bed. He was quite cruel at that time. He had no sympathy for me because after soaking me with water, he used his lightning on me, forcing me to get out of bed.

"You wouldn't dare..." I grumbled at him. "You've changed. You couldn't risk hurting me like that anymore."

"I won't leave you alone until you get out of bed. I can't have you killing yourself over this."

"What?! I won't... God damn Sasuke, I'm just upset, not going to fucking kill myself over some asshole who betrayed me!" I tried to get out of bed, only to be caught in blankets and then fall out of bed completely. I hit the floor hard and just laid there. "Please help me..." I could hear Sasuke coming to my rescue. He lifted me to my feet with his one arm and then untangled the blankets from around me once my feet were stable on the ground. "Thank you..."

"Will you be alright?"

"Not now, but eventually. It's all my fault, Sasuke. This is happening because of me. It's my former lover that's doing this and my eyes that he's using."

"Adryn, it isn't your fault. No one thinks that. So go take a shower and get ready for the day. My brother is worried about you. Don't make him worry any longer."

"Won't he be asleep, it's already super late."

"He's waiting for you." That made my heart skip a beat, and made me nod my head. I then did as Sasuke told me to do and got ready for the day, despite it already being over. I put on my usual black pants and a tank top, black this time and headed out with Sasuke to the mansion. There, we found Kisame and Itachi waiting on one of the couches in the living room. They stood up and instantly approached me. That was when I realized that Sasuke had left me to them.

"Hey, guys..." My heart wasn't in it, but I was trying at least.

"Where have you been? We were worried that maybe those guys came back and got to you or something!" Kisame was obviously not too thrilled with me right now, but I was just too relieved to see him, I started to smile. "What are you smiling about?"

"I have no idea, seeing you both just make me happy. I guess there is still some reason to exist and not curl up and die in my bed."

"Is that what you were thinking about doing?" Itachi then asked, with a worried tone in his voice.

"I thought about it, but Sasuke knocked some sense into me. Not literally, but he made me realize that I needed to get out of bed and exist again despite everything I found out yesterday."

"We heard about Ao being alive and turning against you and this village. It must be hard."

"Hard doesn't really describe it, 'tachi. Ao had meant everything to me. After I lost you I had just been wandering around aimlessly before Lady Mizukage caught me and brought me back to the Mist. Ao was the one who woke me up and gave me a reason to live. He didn't mean to, but he made me fall in love with him. We were even going to be getting married after the war. So this is more than just hard. It's devastating to find out that the man I loved is now trying to kill me and destroy everything he once stood for." As I spoke, I made my way to a chair and sat down. I was far too tired to keep standing as I spoke about this emotional bullshit.

"I see." Itachi made a strange face, but it instantly faded away before Kisame or I could comment on it. It almost seemed like he didn't like me talking about another man the way I talked about him. However, Kisame decided to speak up and say something that was surprising.

"It kinda makes me jealous to hear you talk about another man like that. Don't you feel like that Itachi? The girl who wholeheartedly loved you was able to fall in love with another man after you died." Itachi made that face again but spoke up this time.

"Is that was I'm feeling?"

"Huh?" I was a little shocked at Itachi's admission. Kisame, however, just smiled at his former partner. "Anyway, guys, I'm sorry I just stayed in bed all day. I shouldn't have acted so childishly."

"You're right, but it's alright because you're cute." Kisame teasingly informed me with a smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile back while Itachi was now lost in thought.

"So, now I need to break any possible genjutsu on the others around here. Including you two. Even though you aren't controlled right now, doesn't mean you won't be in the future. So I need to break that mind link before it happens. However, I think Kakuzu is being controlled right now, so first him." I stood up from my seat and made my way to the door. Kisame and Itachi followed behind me, watching how confused I was as I walked around.

"If you're looking for Kakuzu's room, go down that hallway." Kisame pointed to our left and I nodded my head as a thank you. I began to make my way down the halls and came across Hidan in the process.

"Hey, bitch, why is Kakuzu acting so weird?!" Hidan instantly snapped at me when he saw me. I internally just sighed and wondered why I had to deal with this maniac.

"Hidan, Kuzu is being controlled, just like you were." I simply spoke to him slowly so he'd understand me completely. "I need to get into his room so I can break the genjutsu controlling him."

"...Fine..." Hidan then moved out of the way and allowed me into his room. The door was locked though so I just gave it a nice kick, knocking the door out of the way. In the middle of his room stood Kakuzu. He was just standing there staring right at the door. As soon as our eyes met, he lunged at me. I jolted but moved out of the way, causing everyone else to dodge him as well. "The fuck?!" Hidan nearly collided with the larger man but was able to move just in time.

"As I said, he's being controlled. Hold him down so I can help him!" I yelled out to the group of men surrounding me. They instantly moved into action with Kisame practically tackling Kakuzu to the ground. Hidan held the bottom half of him, as Kisame held the top half of him. Itachi just stood there, unsure of what to do. Kakuzu began to thrash around under the two men, but I grabbed his face and used my eyes to break the jutsu holding my friend. Instantly, he came back to his senses and was obviously confused.

"What is going on here?" Kakuzu demanded as he looked at his situation.

"You can let go of him now," I informed the two men holding onto him. They released him and stood up, leaving Kakuzu on the ground, confused as hell.

"You were being controlled by a genjutsu. You were trying to kill me, but I was able to destroy the mind link between you and the caster of the jutsu."

"I see..." Kakuzu stood up and just looked at me. "I won't thank you."

"That's fine. A hug will do anyway." Before he could stop me, I was hugging him.

"What are you doing, you bitch?!" Hidan yelled out in horror.

"What are you doing, Adryn?" Kakuzu questioned possibly also in horror.

"I'm sorry. I was just worried about you. I wasn't sure what the caster would make you do and I was a little worried that something bad would happen to you. I'm glad that you were just trying to kill me and not yourself." I spoke as I released the man and looked up at him. "I don't know what I would have done if I found you dead. I don't like that thought at all."

"I don't like that thought either," Kakuzu muttered as Hidan mumbled it under his breath.

"Sorry about hugging you. I know how you feel about being touched by me now."

"It's alright, Adryn." Kakuzu then patted my head and looked back to his door, which now had a broken lock. "What am I supposed to do about that now?"

"Stay in Hidan's room?" To me suggestion, Kakuzu glared at me. "What? I'm sure Hidan would enjoy that."

"Fuck you, bitch!" Hidan yelled out as he spun around and walked away from all of us.

"Oh, is he still mad at me?"

"You keep teasing him, of course, he's mad at you," Kisame commented simply. He was smiling though so I knew he enjoyed me pissing off Hidan as much as I enjoyed it. Kakuzu just sighed and followed after Hidan. I assume to make him feel better in some way. It was like Kakuzu heard my thoughts, as he paused and turned around to look straight at me.

"Stop your fay thoughts about us Adryn. It's ridiculous." With that, Kakuzu turned back around and headed through the hallway to find wherever Hidan had run off to.

"Well, now I should break the mind link with the others. I guess I should start with you two, right?" I spoke as I turned around to face Itachi and Kisame. Kisame just shrugged his shoulders, not caring at all. "Alright then, I'll start with you, Ki." I activated my Sharingan and searched for the link in his brain. It took a second, but eventually, I found it and severed it. I then did the same with Itachi.

"Are we good now?" Kisame questioned after I deactivated my abilities. I just nodded my head. "Good. I don't like the thought that someone could control

me at any moment."

"You just acted like you didn't care though, what's up with that?"

"It was just an act I guess." He shrugged his shoulders again and yawned this time. "It's late, I wanna get to bed now."

"You can go to bed, I'll go through the rest of the members and break their mind links as well."

"I'll stay up with you, Adryn." Itachi suddenly spoke up, catching me off guard. I turned to look at him and smiled at him.

"Alright, thanks." I bid goodnight to Kisame and watched as he went down another hallway to find his bedroom. There were a lot of bedrooms in the mansion, so everyone was mostly spread out. Other than a few of them who'd chosen to stay close to their former partners' room. So Hidan was close to Kakuzu's room. Kisame and Itachi's rooms were close together. You get the picture. The partners stuck close together. I think Obito, however, is staying away from the rest for the most part and took up a room somewhere on a different floor as the rest. Though I think Konan and Nagato also are on that floor, just away from the Uchiha man.

"So, who's first?" Itachi asked me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, well let's see who's still up first. So let's check the common areas like the kitchen and the living room." So that's what Itachi and I did. Along the way, we ran into Hidan and Kakuzu in the kitchen. We ignored them and entered the living room, which surprisingly had a few people in there. Konan, Nagato, and Obito were all in there chatting with each other. "Hello," I spoke when I entered the room. They all looked up at me and returned my greetings. I then explained to them what I needed to do and they all agreed instantly. None of them liked the thought of being controlled by someone else. So, I broke their mind links. It was simple now that I knew where to look in their mind.

"Where were you today, Adryn?" Konan suddenly asked me after I broke her mind link, which she was the last one. I explained everything to her and the other two men. "I see, I'm so sorry." I just smiled at her.

"It'll be alright, I'm sure of it. I have people close to me that will help me through this tough time." I was still a bit down due to everything, but with Itachi and Kisame, along with Sasuke at my side, I knew I would be alright.

"Should we look for the others? Deidara and Sasori might be in their rooms." Itachi mentioned after we said goodnight to the three in the living room and left the room.

"No, I'll just get them tomorrow. I don't want to annoy Sasori. He's scary when he's angry." I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "He's also adorable."

"He'd kill you if he heard that," Itachi muttered in response. I just smiled at him.

"He totally would, wouldn't he?" Instead of smiling back at me, Itachi seemed to have thought of something. "What is it, 'tachi?"

"You should stay here tonight. It's already completely dark out. I don't want you to be walking back to your home alone. Especially now that you have been attacked a few times." Itachi explained to me simply. I thought about it for a moment before nodding my head.

"Very well. That sounds like a good idea." I agreed maybe a little too quickly. "Where do you and Ki stay? I want to stay in a room around you two." Itachi nodded his head and guided me to where their rooms are.

"This is my room." Itachi pointed to his left. There was a room right there. "Kisame's is the door two down on the same side."

"I see. So I'll stay in this one." I pointed to the one in the middle of the two's doors.

"Alright. Well, goodnight." Itachi paused before entering his room though. "If you need anything, wake me up."

"I will, thank you 'tachi." He nodded his head and left me alone in the hallway. I then entered my room and saw it was a pretty nice room. It was like the others were. There was a bed, a desk and plenty of space for anything else you might want. We allowed the Akatsuki to customize their rooms to a point. However, this room was just a blank room, but still, it seemed cozy enough. I instantly locked the door and took off the clothes I had on, leaving me in my underwear, which was panties and a bra. I really hoped that the lock would hold up against other people. I didn't need anyone to see me like this.

~

I woke up the next morning, earlier than usual. Not for any particular reason, I was just fully rested earlier due to most of my previous day spent in bed all day. So, now that I was awake, I put my clothes back on and unlocked the door. I left the room and sensed that both Kisame and Itachi were still sleeping. So, I went to the kitchen and living room to see if Deidara or Sasori were awake. Sure enough, I found both of them already up and in the living room.

"Hey, guys." I smiled at them.

"What do you want?" Sasori grumbled, he clearly had just woken up. I explained to them then all about the mind link and being controlled.

"Can I break the link in your mind so that Ao can't control you at any given time?" I asked politely. I sure hoped that they would allow me to do so, and they did. Both of them nodded their heads almost instantly. I guess the feeling of not wanting to be controlled is strong in the Akatsuki members. "Thank you." I started with Sasori and then went to Deidara. "Alright, that should do it."

"If you're done, you can leave now."

"...Of course. Have a good day guys." With that, I left the room and entered the kitchen. I was all alone now and was bored. So I decided to raid their refrigerator and cupboards. However, there was nothing simple to eat, so I just decided to walk around the mansion.

I took a mental note of where everything was and how to get to it. I needed to figure out this place better just in case of emergencies. Being a sensory ninja doesn't help when you don't know how to get to the place you are sensing people in. However, of course, I got lost.

"Where am I?" I muttered to myself quietly. I just kept walking through and ended up, somehow, in the front of the mansion. "How did I get here?"

"You alright, Adryn?" One of the ANBU questioned when he heard me mumbling to myself. I looked over at him and smiled.

"Just trying to find my way."

"Aren't we all..." The other ANBU muttered under his breath.

"Are you alright?" The first ANBU asked the second one. The second one just nodded his head, but I figured that it was a lie. However, I sensed more people waking up, so I decided to head back to the kitchen and wait there for people. I'd cook them food, if only I knew how to. As I was lost in thought, I heard the door open behind me.

"Good morning, Adryn. You're here awfully early." It was Kisame who entered the kitchen right after me.

"Actually, I stayed the night here," I responded with a smile on my face.

"You what?" I could tell his mind went to me doing something with Itachi.

"I stayed in the room between you and Itachi. It's not like anything happened while you slept." I couldn't help but chuckle at him. He breathed a sigh of relief and nodded his head.

"So, you making up breakfast?" Kisame then realized something and spoke up again. "Oh right, you cant cook."

"I can try!"

"You said you'd burn the place down if you tried."

"...You're right..." I sighed and looked down at the floor.

"Well, I can make us something."

"You can?" I was shocked and surprised. I didn't think he could cook.

"You'd have to make something for everyone else too." Both Kisame and I jolted when we heard Sasori's voice from the other doorway.

"I guess I can. Adryn you help me though." Kisame wasn't too pleased about it but seemingly was thrilled about me helping him.

"That won't end well..."

"Just help me out!" Kisame got an apron from one of the cupboards and handed it to me. "Here, wear this."

"You wear it!"

"You'll look cuter in it, not me." I sighed and took the damn apron. I quickly put it on and then turned to Kisame.

"Happy now?"

"Extremely." Kisame looked at me fondly, before shaking his head and regaining his composure. "Now, I'll show you how to cook."

Everything went surprisingly well and the food turned out as okay as it could be with an inexperienced chef and a big blue man cooking it. I was sent to gather the residences of the mansion. However, most of them already woke up before I could wake them up. Nagato, Konan, Obito, and Kakuzu were all already awake by the time Kisame and I were done with cooking. They were all in the living room with Deidara and Sasori waiting for the food to get done. So that left Itachi and Hidan to wake up. I decided to wake Hidan up first.

"Hidan, the food's done!" I yelled out through his door. I could hear him stir in his bed, but he didn't get out of it. "Hidan! Don't make me come in there!"

"I'm naked in here!" Hidan yelled back to me.

"Gross Hidan, just come out when you're dressed, alright, the food is ready." I heard him grumble something, but I couldn't hear what it was. So I just shrugged and walked away. I made my way to Itachi's room, only for him to walk out of it just as I approached. "Good morning 'tachi." He turned to me, a little surprised.

"Morning, Adryn." He responded after a moment.

"How did you sleep?"

"Just fine, as usual."

"I see. Well, Ki and I made food, so let's head to the kitchen!"

"You helped?" He seemed a little skeptical and hesitant about that.

"I did! I swear!" I couldn't help but chuckle at the situation. He and I were just chatting away like nothing was wrong. Even though, there were a few things that were indeed wrong. Itachi must have picked up on my change from chuckling to darkness.

"Are you doing alright?"

"I guess I am. I need to talk to the Kage though. We need to move into action immediately before Ao does anything else."

"When will you talk to them?"

"After breakfast," I responded just as we reached the kitchen door. When I opened it, Hidan and everyone else were already in there. None of them were eating though. "What's going on?"

"We were waiting for you and Itachi, bitch!" Hidan snapped at me. I couldn't help but smile though.

"Thank you guys!" So, then we all dug into the food that Kisame and I made. It probably could have tasted way better if I didn't help, but it was decent enough. It filled our stomachs and gave us energy for the day.

"That could have been worse I guess," Hidan complained or complimented. I wasn't sure which he was doing, or maybe it was both.

"It's called, saying thank you, Hidan," Kakuzu grumbled as he left the room to go do whatever he does when he's awake.

"I refuse to thank that blue fuck and his whore!" Hidan yelled out as he followed Kakuzu. I just sighed to myself.

"Don't worry Adryn, I think that was him being nice," Konan stated with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was, he didn't need to add that last part though," I responded simply with a half-smile on my face. "Though I guess I kind of deserve that."

"No woman ever deserves being called such a horrible thing, no matter what they have done in life."

"Thank you, Konan." I fully smiled at the woman now as I got up from the seat I was sitting in.

"You leaving or something?" Kisame questioned when he noticed me begin to head for the door.

"I am actually. I need to plan our next move with the Kage. We can't just sit still now that we know who is behind everything. Besides, I'm really getting tired of being attacked and left in the dark. I need to talk to the Kage and find out everything that they know."

"Good luck!" Kisame called out to me as I exited the kitchen. I made my way through the halls and left through the door. The ANBU gave me looks as I left. I couldn't see their faces, of course, but I could sense their judging eyes on me. I did stay the night after all. So I was probably now written off as a whore to more people. However, I didn't care, I made my way home first to shower and change before heading to the Kage. I hoped they were all in there this time so we could have a proper talk.


	8. Finally

When I got to the Kage's place, I quickly made my way to their chamber and realized that everyone, thankfully, was there. They had just finished eating and were talking about the schedule for the day. I smiled to myself because I knew I was about to mess up that schedule.

"Hello everyone. We need to talk." I exclaimed as I entered the room. They all looked at me, some glaring at me.

"What about?" Lord Tsuchikage responded nearly instantly in his gruff tone.

"About what we are going to do now that Ao is behind all this bullshit. We can't just do nothing and we need to figure out what we are doing soon. I want to take him down as soon as I can."

"Well, it just so happens that we talked about that a little bit last night. Let us resume the conversation." So, with me involved this time, we discussed what we were going to do. I explained that the Akatsuki were no longer able to be controlled by Ao and that I earned most of their trust. Only Hidan would be a real problem for me. Meaning we could use them and other ninjas to mount a full-scale attack on Ao as soon as we knew where he was.

"Do you have anything of his, Adryn? Anything of Ao's?" Lord Hokage asked at a pause in our conversation. I thought about it for a moment before nodding my head.

"I do actually. I have some of his dirty clothes that I never bothered washing just hiding in my closet." I responded, not nearly as embarrassed as I thought I'd be to admit that out loud.

"Why do you have his clothing just in your closet? Why haven't you washed them yet?" Lady Mizukage questioned instantly. I just sadly smiled at her.

"I couldn't bring myself to wash away his scent from them."

"That's good, Adryn. Now I can use my ninja hounds to track his scent. Go get them please."

"Yes, sir!" I immediately left the place and headed back to mine. It only took a few minutes to collect the clothing, place the articles of clothing in a bag and return to the Kage. I moved very quickly. Lord Hokage instantly summoned his hounds, which were actually quite cute. They all got a good smell of Ao's scent before heading out of the door.

"I'll let you know when we find him, okay Kakashi?" The smallest dog spoke before heading out.

"Did that dog just talk?" I asked a little confused and worried. "I'm not crazy right, that dog talked. Right?" I looked around the room in confusion and horror.

"You are crazy, but the dog did indeed talk." Lord Tsuchikage responded to me, causing me to shoot him a glare.

"His name is Pakkun." Lord Hokage muttered to the group, making me smile slightly.

"Go back with the Akatsuki. We will call you when we are ready to move. Make sure they understand their role in this." Lady Mizukage spoke to me simply. "I'll send Chojuro as soon as we know Ao's location."

"Alright." I then left the room the Kage were in. I wasn't too thrilled that things weren't happening right away, but I knew that I would know things as soon as they knew things as well. I think Lady Mizukage was trying to have me trust her again. It's not that I didn't trust her, I just was feeling like I was at the end of my rope with them keeping things from me. I hated being left in the dark.

So, I just headed back to the Akatsuki mansion. I easily sensed where Itachi was and headed there. He was in the living room with Kisame. I easily made my way there, now knowing how to at least get to the living room. That and the kitchen were the two easiest places to find in the mansion.

"So, how'd it go?" Kisame questioned as soon after greeting me. I told them all that I knew at that moment and how they would inform me when they knew where Ao was. "I see. So we'll be forced to fight?"

"I'm sorry that you have no choice," I responded simply and honestly. I didn't like making people fight for a cause they weren't for, but this was also very necessary.

"I'm alright with fighting for and with you, however, the others might not be so kind."

"I'm with you, Adryn," Itachi spoke up, instantly bringing a smile to my face.

"Thank you, 'tachi. I truly appreciate it. You too Ki. Both of your support is very important to me." I smiled at both of them and seeing them return my smile made me smile brighter.

"What are you fucks talking about in here?" I turned around to see Hidan standing there with annoyance written on his face. "Why are you here so often? I heard you even stayed the night last night. The fuck's up with that?" I just sighed and shook my head.

"We were talking about how the Akatsuki will once again go to war, however, this time it will be for the good guys."

"Hell no."

"You can kill as many as you like, granted they aren't any of the good guys I mentioned."

"Seriously?" Kakuzu grumbled from behind Hidan. The purple-eyed man moved to the side to let Kakuzu into the room. "We have to fight again?"

"We'll pay you if that makes you happy, Kuzu." That seemed to make the man happier as he just nodded his head.

"I think Sasori and Deidara might be the hardest to get to go along with your plans though, Adryn," Kisame commented from behind me on the couch. I nodded my head immediately.

"I'll find a way to get them to agree. I'll go ask them right now." With that, I left the room. I knew that Sasori was in his room, but Deidara was in the room with him. They must get along or something. Maybe they are talking about art. Then again, I guess they'd be arguing about art if that was the case. Either way, when I reached Sasori's room, I knocked on the door.

"Come in." I heard from the redhead. So I entered the room. It seemed like both men were surprised to see me. "What do you want, girl?"

"I would like to request that you help us fight against people who are trying to destroy our peace." I then explained the whole situation to them. It was a long story, but they listened carefully throughout the entirety of it. "So you see-"

"Fine," Sasori muttered, cutting me off.

"If Sasori will help you, then I will too. As long as I get to blow up stuff, un!" Deidara responded next, bringing a smile to my face.

"Thank you both, you won't regret your decision!" With that, I ran out of the room before they could change their minds. I went to go and find Konan and Nagato, along with Obito. The three of them were surprisingly together though. They were in what I think was Nagato's room. So I just explained everything to them and asked them for their support as well.

"Of course we'll help you, right?" Konan spoke as she looked to the two men. Nagato was the first to respond by just nodding his head. Obito then nodded his head as well. So, I thanked them and then left them to whatever they were doing before. When I finally returned to the living room, only Itachi was in there.

"Where did everyone go?" I questioned as I looked around the room. I was a little confused. However, Itachi just looked up at me from the couch he was sitting on.

"They all said they had other things to take care of," Itachi responded simply. "I think they were just trying to give us time to be alone together."

"Oh, I see." I was a little embarrassed at that, but then an idea came to mind. "Since there is still an hour or so of daylight left, do you want to go train together? You still need to get your strength back."

"That sounds like a good idea." Itachi then stood up and approached me. I smiled at him and then began to lead him through the mansion to the front door, which was the only door. "You've gotten better at finding your way around here."

"Yeah, I've had a lot of practice now," I spoke with a laugh. "I can at least find the kitchen and living rooms now and then find the door from them. Nothing else though." Itachi didn't respond, but I could tell he was smiling a slight smile.

"So what should we start off by doing?" Itachi questioned once we got warmed up to train. I thought about it for a moment before smiling at him.

"Well, I've always wanted to fight you. So let's spar a bit."

"I don't think you'll enjoy it as much as you think. I'm nowhere near my strongest currently."

"I'll go easy on you," I smirked at him teasingly.

"Well, that just sounds like you are asking for me to defeat you." I couldn't help but laugh at his words. I then pulled out a kunai and tossed it to him. I then pulled out the Kiba.

"Fine then, I'll go full strength, think you can keep up?"

"We shall see."

And we did see. Itachi was indeed able to keep up with me while we fought. Every move I made, he made one faster. His eyes clearly worked better than mine did. However, nearing the end, he began to slow down, leading me to win our little match. No blood was drawn though, so it was alright. He surrendered in the end, making me the winner. It didn't make me happy, but we weren't fighting seriously. It was only with our weapons and taijutsu.

"Dammit, 'tachi, you've still got it despite not being at your strongest. I can't believe you gave me such a hard time!" I spoke, slightly out of breath as we cooled off from the fight.

"You kept me on my toes the entire time and ended up causing me to admit defeat. You did just as well as I did, despite not being at your strongest."

"My head hurts now from using my eyes so much. I don't really have the stamina to keep up with them."

"My eyes are causing slight pain as well. Let us head back into the mansion. It's gotten dark now anyway."

"You're right and I'll heal your eyes once we're in there."

"Thank you, Adryn." With that, Itachi and I made our way back inside the mansion. We headed back to the living room only to find Kisame along the way.

"You two fought well. I'm surprised that you lost Itachi." Kisame spoke up once we noticed him. Apparently, he'd watched the whole match from the kitchen window.

"I won't lose next time." Itachi declared with a slight smile on his face.

"You know, I've noticed that you've been smiling a lot lately. Are you alright?"

"You're asking the man if he's alright because he's been smiling? That's harsh." Kisame joked before Itachi could respond to me. However, Itachi just turned to look at me.

"I've been given many reasons to smile lately. Is it a problem?" Yes, it makes my heart feel like it's going to burst every single time I see you smile, but of course, I couldn't dare say that out loud.

"Of course not, I think you look better with a smile on your face actually." Oh fuck, that was also embarrassing to say. I could feel my face turn red immediately after I'd spoken the words. "Anyway! Let's go heal your eyes now." I motioned for him to move on with his walking and he did so with a smile on his face. I guess what I said gave him another reason to smile. With Kisame now with us, we finally made our way into the living room. Itachi sat down on a couch and I sat next to him with Kisame taking a chair that faced us. "Now, sit still and don't move. Also, close your eyes."

"Alright." Itachi sat very still and closed his eyes as I reached up with one of my hands. I then put my hand against his eyes and began to heal them. I hoped it would soothe his pain. I could very literally feel the tension fading away from his eyes, so I knew that the pain was being taken away. Once I thought it was enough, I stopped healing and put my hand back down.

"How do your eyes feel now?" Itachi opened his eyes and seemed to be a little shocked. He quickly composed himself before speaking to me.

"Good, thank you, Adryn."

"Of course."

"What she means is 'anything for you'." Kisame teased, causing my face to go red. He wasn't wrong though so I did not attempt to deny it. Though, I did stand up suddenly. "You angry? I was just teasing."

"No, it's alright. I'm used to your teasing. It's just, I really should be getting home."

"I don't like the thought of you being alone while there are people who want to kill you," Itachi spoke up before I could make a move to leave.

"Should I stay here again then?"

"Yes." Both Kisame and Itachi said in unison. I was a little taken aback.

"Oh... well alright. I guess I'll just head to my temporary room then."

"We'll walk you there," Kisame spoke up instantly. "Right, Itachi?"

"Of course." Itachi stood up and Kisame stood up as well. I was a little confused right now, but I just went with it.

"Well, let's go then. I'm tired." With that, I began to walk with Kisame in front of Itachi and I. He guided us to where the rooms were and led us to where our specific rooms were.

"Well, this is you," Kisame stated as he stopped walking.

"Thank you. Both of you."

"Goodnight, Adryn."

"Goodnight, Ki."

"Sleep well, Adryn," Itachi spoke in a kind tone. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"You too, 'tachi." I then entered the room and closed the door behind me. I then locked it and made my way to bed. I didn't get out of my clothes this time. I was far too tired, so I just made my way to the bed, got into it and covered myself up before passing out.

~

Frantic knocks at my door are what I woke up to. Then a voice began calling through the door.

"Adryn! Adryn wake up! We found Ao's location!" It was Chojuro. As soon as I registered the words, I flew out of bed and threw open the door. My loud noises caused Itachi and Kisame to exit their rooms as well. They were both in their sleep clothes which were very cute, but my attention was focused on Chojuro.

"Are you sure?" I asked as I began to internally freak out.

"Yes. We are sure. Lady Mizukage wanted me to tell you to get the Akatsuki ready for battle. We head out at noon."

"What time is it now?"

"8 am."

"What's going on?" Kisame finally questioned as he yawned.

"They found Ao's location. So get ready. I'll go collect the others. Meet me in the living room." I ordered the blue man and then looked to Itachi. "Are you ready for a real fight?"

"Of course." Itachi then reentered his room and began to get ready, just as Kisame did. Chojuro and I split up and went on our ways waking up the other members of the Akatsuki. Once they were all ready for the day, they entered the living room and took a seat. As soon as everyone was assembled, I began to speak.

"Alright, so Ao's location has been found. We will head out at noon. However, I have to make sure you all are ready for a battle."

"Can I kill people?" Hidan questioned, surprisingly not swearing for once.

"Yes, as long as they are the enemy and not one of us."

"I have their weapons," Chojuro stated simply as he pulled out a scroll. He gave Hidan his weapon back, Sasori his puppets and Deidara his detonating clay. He also had a few other weapons for everyone else to use. Once everyone had at least one weapon of some kind, we began to speak again.

"Now, there is no attacking each other. There is no killing one of us or the ANBU that will be with us."

"Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura will also be joining us," Chojuro commented once I was done warning the Akatsuki.

"We're here now!" Naruto yelled out, making me glare at him. I didn't like him much. He was too bright for me, but he was Sasuke's best friend, so I had to deal with him.

"Good morning, Sasuke, Sakura," I spoke to them. Without even looking at Naruto. I could see him make a face out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored it.

"For now until we leave, you all will train for battle," Sakura informed the Akatsuki. They didn't seem to have a problem with it. If anything they were glad to finally be able to leave the mansion. Well, those who hadn't left the mansion were glad at least. So, we all went outside with the ANBU watching over us all. Everyone got back into the hang of things as they trained. I was slightly worried about Itachi, but he showed no signs of fatigue or anything negative, so I was alright with it. I would still watch over him carefully though.

Once noon came, we met up with the other ANBU and we all headed out. I remained in between Itachi and Kisame. Mostly so I could talk to them during the trip. However, we were all silent through the journey. Whether we were all lost in thought or were mentally preparing for battle, no one spoke.

After an hour of moving through the forest, we came to a stop because some of the people who were sensory ninja sensed that there was something wrong. I wasn't paying attention though. I was too caught up in thought. I was able to speak to Kisame, however, Kisame began to speak first.

"Will you be able to fight Ao?"

"...I have to." I wasn't sure that I could actually fight him or not, but I had no choice. He was going against everything I stood for in this village. He's even tried to have people kill me multiple times already. So he clearly has chosen his path in life and it has led him away from me.

"Adryn, are you alright?" Itachi questioned when I fell silent for too long. It took me a moment to realize that Itachi had spoken to me.

"Huh? Oh, I'm alright." I responded after a moment of confusion. Both Itachi and Kisame looked at me with skeptical looks on their faces. "Seriously guys, I'll be fine."

"No, you won't be." Everyone else froze, as I spun around to see Ao standing there a couple of feet away from us with men all around him. He and his people had made their way around us and sneaked up on us from behind. Before anyone could do anything, more of his men surrounded us. "This is going to be fun. However, the look on your face brings me more joy than anything." Ao's voice was different. It was cold and hate-filled. He even looked different. He now had one of my original eyes implanted in his remaining eye. He looked like he was craving a fight. He was also scarred and where the Byakugan once was, was now gone. It seemed like one of his arms was also gone and replaced by metal. Along with one of his legs. Seeing him took my breath away and horrified me at the same time. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Adryn."

"I think she has," Kisame growled, stepping in front of me protectively. Itachi was right at his side.

"Both of you, stop it. This is my fight. I have Ao. Focus on the others." I finally spoke up, pushing passed the two men I adored to face another one.

"Oh? You are going to fight me?" Ao questioned with a condescending tone to his voice. I didn't like that at all, so in response, I pulled out the Kiba.

"Yes, I am going to fight you." Black lightning began to crackle around me as I charged up. I felt Kisame and Itachi step away from me as to not get hit by my attacks. This was finally time. I finally had to fight someone that I loved. If I let myself dwell on it for too long, I knew that I would start to cry, so instead of crying, I smiled at Ao. "Don't worry, my love. I'll make this quick for you. I'll make sure, this time, that you die." Ao just laughed at my words and got ready to make his first move. No matter what was about to happen, I couldn't let this man get away again.


	9. The Truth

I made the first move, causing black lightning to flow right at him. He was ready for it though and just sidestepped it. However, my attack caused everyone else to begin their own fights, leaving me all alone with Ao. Even so, Kisame and Itachi remained close to me.

"You are so ready to fight me, it just goes to show that you never truly loved me at all," Ao stated as I shot more lightning at him. He dodged my attacks easily though.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! You are the only man I ever thought to marry! You and I shared many firsts and those times have always been special to me!" I yelled out angrily and I lunged at him, trying to hit him with the lightning imbued Kiba. He continued to move out of my way gracefully.

"Speaking of our most important first. Where is our child?" At Ao's words, I could see Itachi and Kisame pause for a moment.

"Shut up! You don't need to know anything about her!"

"Oh? It's a girl? What did you name her? I deserve to know that, I am her father after all." I kept quiet but continued to attack him. No matter what I did, he saw it coming. "I know you Adryn. Better than anyone else in this world."

"That's where you're wrong!" It was Sasuke who'd appeared suddenly behind Ao. "You also don't deserve to know anything about Adryn's daughter!" Sasuke was merely a clone, while the real him fought next to Naruto and Sakura. Ao easily took care of him though by using a jutsu to blow him away.

"What is her name, Adryn?!" Ao demanded as he went right through my defenses and kicked me onto the ground. He took one of the Kiba swords and pointed it at my throat while he stepped on my other arm. I just looked up at him with hate in my eyes.

"Serenity." At her name, I felt my eyes burn. I remembered that feeling, it was the Rinnegan awakening.

"Thank you, now I will find her and use her to destroy the Mist!" Ao went to swipe at my neck but was hit by Itachi's fire jutsu. Ao went flying away, leaving me on the ground. Thankfully, he'd dropped the other Kiba sword, so as I sat up I picked it back up.

"Adryn, your eyes..." Kisame commented a little shocked.

"I'm surprised too," I responded simply. "Thank you, 'tachi. I was fighting too distracted."

"I'd say, what's all this about a daughter?" Kisame questioned instantly.

"I'll explain it to you later."

"Yes, later, right now we will help you fight Ao," Itachi spoke up as he approached both me and Kisame.

"I-"

"No arguments." Itachi harshly spoke to me, causing me to jolt slightly. However, before we could do anything, Itachi was hit with a powerful water jutsu from Ao. It was shocking and Kisame reacted before me.

"You take care of Itachi, I'll handle Ao!" Kisame yelled out as he went into action. I nodded my head and made my way to Itachi. His side had been hit hard, probably breaking his ribs on that side.

"Itachi! Can you still breathe easy?" I questioned instantly as I was at his side. He nodded his head and took a deep breath to show that he could breathe easy. However, he winced as he inhaled showing that something was indeed wrong there. He also began to cough up blood now, meaning something internally was ruptured or at least injured in some way. I couldn't tell, due to how long it's been since I was a good medical ninja.

"Adryn, it'll be alright," Itachi muttered to me as he began to lose consciousness.

"You're damn right it'll be alright, I won't let you die!" I began to tear up as I also began to heal him. I put all my strength into healing the man I truly loved. After about 10 minutes of healing, Itachi woke back up.

"Adryn?" He was a little confused now. So I explained to him what had happened. "I see. So you saved me?"

"Of course I did, 'tachi! I refuse to let you die!" I choked on a few words, but it came out clearly enough for him to understand. I heard footsteps approaching me, so I wiped my tears and looked up to see a bloody Kisame.

"He got away and the others did as well. So this fight isn't over yet. It'll start up another day." Kisame informed us as he sat down next to Itachi and myself. I nodded my head and just turned my attention back onto Itachi.

"I think this is all I can do, we'll have to check you out at the mansion." I then turned my attention onto Kisame. "Is all this your blood?"

"I'm not sure anymore." Kisame seemed a little tired currently. So I reached over and began to heal him too. He stopped me, however. "You've used too much chakra already."

"It's fine, I'll just use Matatabi's chakra to heal you."

"Matatabi?"

"The two tails."

"Oh." So that's what I just did. I used her chakra to heal Kisame. She and I were close enough that I could control her as well as I needed to. After a few minutes of healing, I began to feel a little faint, so I decided to stop and lean my head against Kisame's chest. "Adryn?"

"Is she alright?" I heard Itachi ask from behind me. He was now sitting up and looking at us concernedly.

"I just wanna take a nap..." With that, I began to pass out in the arms of my former lover. I could hear both Kisame and Itachi calling out my names as I fell into the black.

~

When I woke up, I saw I was in my room in the mansion. I turned to look to my side and there were Itachi and Kisame. Both of them were sleeping in chairs. I couldn't help but smile at that. However, I was then jolted in shock at a voice.

"They haven't left your side at all since you passed out, Adryn." It was Sasuke. I slowly sat up and looked to the door. There he was standing there, looking slightly relieved.

"You look like you've been hovering over us as well the whole time. Wait, how long was I out?"

"A couple of days."

"Damn. I guess I did use too much chakra." I couldn't help but chuckle. However, Sasuke just gave me a look. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Apologize to them." It wasn't harsh, it was just a comment. Sasuke gave me a soft look and then left the room. The door closing seemed to be enough to stir Kisame and Itachi. Both sets of eyes opened instantly and it took them a moment to realize that I was looking back at them.

"Hey, guys," I spoke with a smile on my face.

"Adryn!" Both men gasped out at the same time. They both sat up and looked at me with happiness clear on their faces. Kisame was smiling and Itachi had a small smile on his face as well.

"I'm awake now. Sorry to keep you guys waiting."

"Just don't do that again, alright?" Kisame instantly responded. Itachi nodded his head in agreement with Kisame.

"So... I'm sure you guys have some questions. About what was said during the fight with Ao."

"I'd say I have one big question."

"And that'd be...?" I asked that, but I knew what they wanted to know.

"Ao said you have a child together with him. A daughter named Serenity is what you said."

"Is that true? Do you have a daughter with Ao?" Itachi questioned next before I could answer. I just sighed and looked down at my hands.

"Yes. She is about 5 years old now. She was born a little while after the war ended. She is in my father's care, Orochimaru's care."

"How come?" Kisame questioned curiously.

"I am a full-time active ninja. I can't raise a child, plus I don't know how to raise a child. However, I visit Serenity every once in a while and she adores me despite me not being around much."

"It's too bad that she's with Orochimaru, it'd be nice to meet a little version of you." I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Believe me, she is just like me. Which is partially bad. She looks like Ao though, but she has my eyes. She shows signs of possibly awakening the Sharingan in both her eyes one day."

"Really?" Itachi seemed to be conflicted over that. It seemed like he wasn't sure if it was okay or not.

"You know, maybe you all can meet her. Now that Ao has plans on trying to get her, maybe it'd be safer to bring her here."

"Surrounded by a bunch of criminals, would that really be safer?"

"I don't think even Hidan would hurt an innocent child for no reason. Especially not my child. Besides, Serenity can handle herself. She's a good little ninja for her age. She shows signs of surpassing me one day. Though I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"She'll have a tough life."

"No, she won't. I'll make sure of it. I'd never do anything to put any type of pressure on her. I'll allow her to grow at her own pace. My father has agreed to raise her as such as well."

"I see." Itachi made a face, one mixed between relief and grief. He must be thinking about how he was raised.

"I guess I should tell Sasuke to go and get Serenity."

"Why Sasuke?" Kisame questioned, though Itachi seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"He's the only one who knows where Orochimaru currently is. I mean I guess Lord Hokage might know as well since he has that guy following my father around." I made a move to get out of bed but was stopped by two pairs of hands on my shoulders.

"Whoa, where are you going?"

"I need to go tell Sasuke to go get my child. Even though others might know where Orochimaru is, I only trust Sasuke to bring her back. So I have to go find him."

"No, you need to rest."

"I've been resting, besides I need to get back to work. I have to report to Lady Mizukage."

"Adryn. Just rest." It was Itachi now telling me to rest, so I guess I can't ignore his request. I just sighed and laid back down in bed.

"Fine, but I won't be happy about it!" I huffed as I turned over to face away from them. I heard Kisame chuckle as Itachi spoke up again.

"I'll go tell Sasuke while you rest." With that, Itachi stood up and left the room, the door softly closing behind him. I guess Kisame decided now would be a good time to start talking because he instantly began to speak as soon as he was sure Itachi was far enough away.

"Adryn. We thought... I thought I'd lost you when you passed out in my arms." Kisame began in a somber tone. "I nearly panicked when I saw your suddenly lifeless

body. I knew you weren't dead, but still, it scared me." This was very out of character for him to admit. So I had to do something to cheer him up.

"Ki..." I turned around and sat up to face him. I reached out and grabbed one of his hands. "I'm so sorry for scaring you. I didn't think about the consequences at all. I just healed Itachi and then you." I then gasped out. "How is 'tachi? I couldn't heal him the whole way." Kisame just sighed and pulled his hand away from mine.

"Always about him, huh?" Kisame had a somewhat sad look on his face. It made my heart hurt.

"Ki, what do you want me to do? Would it make you feel better if I distanced myself from him?"

"Of course not. Adryn, I always have known I could never be the main one in your heart."

"Despite not being the main person in my heart, I still love you Kisame. I always have." That caused a small smile to appear on his face.

"I know that. It makes me happy to hear you admit it." Before I could respond, the door opened, to reveal Sasuke and Itachi standing there.

"Are we interrupting something?" To Sasuke's question, Kisame stood up from his chair, turned to look at the brothers and then spoke.

"No, nothing at all." Kisame then turned to look back at me. "I'll see you later, Adryn."

"Ki!" He just ignored me and left the room. Once he was far enough away, Sasuke approached me and questioned me.

"What was that about and why do you look like you are about to cry?" I sighed before responding sadly.

"I think I hurt him again."

"He'll be alright," Itachi reassured me as he also approached the bed I was on.

"So, what's this about you wanting me to go get Serenity?" Sasuke asked once he sat down in one of the chairs. I explained to him that I wanted to not only see my daughter again but that Itachi and Kisame wanted to meet her. Along with not wanting Ao to get his hands on her. "I see. Very well. I will take Sakura and we will go tomorrow morning. It may take a few days though."

"It's alright. I'll wait as long as I have to. I just want to see her again. It's been so long since the last time I got away from here to visit her. Thank you, Sasuke."

"Of course." Sasuke then seemed to think about something. "I'll have Sakura come in to check you out so Itachi will let you get up from his bed."

"Thank you," I responded with a laugh. With that, Sasuke got up from his chair and left the room.

"So what were you and Kisame talking about?" Itachi asked though he knew it was none of his business. I just shook my head. I didn't want to think about it. It hurt me a bit too much. Besides, I didn't really have the time to tell him, as Sakura walked into the room a moment later. Apparently, she'd been close by anyway and Sasuke was able to find her quickly.

Once Sakura was in here, she began to check me over and she made sure that there was nothing wrong with me at all. It took her a few minutes, but finally, she spoke up.

"You are fine now, Adryn. There is nothing wrong with you at all. You no longer have any reason to just sit in bed all day." Sakura explained to both me and Itachi.

"Thank you, Sakura." She just nodded her head and left the room. Now that she was gone, I turned to look at Itachi.

"Can I get out of bed now? I'd like to take a shower and change my clothes." I spoke to the man I adored. He nodded his head and got up from his chair.

"You will come right back, won't you? After you shower and change?" Itachi questioned as he looked down at me.

"No, I have to talk to Lady Mizukage first, then I'll come back."

"Very well." It was like I needed to get his permission, but instead of finding it annoying, I found it quite cute.

"Hey, 'tachi?"

"What is it?"

"Please don't ever get hurt again. You really scared me when you got hit by that jutsu."

"Same goes for you, Adryn."

"Huh?" I looked up to him to see if I was right in assuming he meant that I scared him as well, but he'd looked away and began to leave the room.

"I'll see you later. Come find me when you return to the mansion." I was left in silent confusion. However, I didn't have the time to dwell on it. So I got out of bed and headed out of the mansion. Once I returned to my home, I took a much-needed shower and changed my clothes. After I was down there, I headed to the Kage. I wasn't sure if I needed to tell them anything or not, but I figured Lady Mizukage would like to know when I woke up if she didn't already.

"Oh, Adryn! You're awake!" Lady Mizukage instantly stated when she saw me walk into their room. All the other Kage turned towards me as well. "I heard all about the situation from Itachi and Kisame. I was so worried your emotional wounds wouldn't let you wake up for a while."

"Well, I'm fine for the most part. Just exhausted my body using up too much chakra." I explained simply. Surprisingly, no one had anything negative to say about me for once. I expected someone to at least yell at me for letting them escape, but nope, nothing.

"Well, we already got the report from those criminals, so you have nothing left to do here. Run along, child." Lord Tsuchikage grumbled to me.

"Well, I do have something to say actually."

"Oh?"

"Sasuke and Sakura are bringing my daughter here to ensure her safety." The Kage already knew of my daughter and that she was living with Orochimaru.

"I see. I hope that turns out to be the right decision." Lady Mizukage stated as she looked at me. I just smiled at her.

"Don't worry, I'll protect her and make sure she never falls into Ao's hands." With that, I bowed to them and left the room. I then hurried off to the mansion. I was eager to see Itachi again and I wondered why he specifically wanted me to come back and find him. However confused I was, I still followed his request. Once I was in the mansion, I went to find him. He was in his room though. However, as I approached the door, it opened to reveal Kisame. "Oh, Ki, hello," I muttered confused at the situation.

"Of course you'd instantly come to find Itachi." Kisame sounded a little bitter, but then he shook it off and smiled down at me. "He's all yours now. Goodnight, Adryn."

"Goodnight?"

"I don't plan on seeing you again until tomorrow. I'll be in my room if anyone needs me." With that, Kisame made his way into his room and closed the door. I stood there, confused for a moment before Itachi called out to me from his bed.

"Come in, Adryn." I did as he asked and closed the door behind me. Once I was in there, he patted the spot next to him on his bed. "Sit down please."

"Um, what's this about?" He was really starting to freak me out a little bit.

"Kisame mentioned that you were concerned about my health still. So I will give you an opportunity to check me over before we go and train."

"You want to train?"

"Yes. I need to get into better shape so no one has to risk their lives to heal me again."

"I see. I guess I'll gladly help you out then. However, first I want to make sure you are fully healed." Itachi nodded his head and allowed me to check him over for any remaining wounds, however, I found none, so my concern disappeared. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What did Kisame want with you while I was gone?"

"He just wanted to talk about you."

"What about me?"

"I can't tell you that. He asked me not to say." Itachi looked at me with sad eyes, making me frown.

"Alright, I guess I'll let it go. You ready to go train?" The sad look in Itachi's eyes disappeared and was replaced by small excitement.

"I won't go easy on you this time. I'll win this time." Itachi almost seemed to be teasing me.

"Oh, you went easy on me last time? We'll see who wins this time, and I'm sure it'll be me."

It indeed was me. However, it was close. There were a few times that I thought Itachi would get me, but I managed to pull out ahead of him and kick his ass in the end. Leaving us both out of breath and leaning against trees. Itachi was really out of shape to lose to me in taijutsu. However, I'm sure if he used genjutsu he'd win easily. Then again, my eyes are fairly strong, so who knows what would happen if we went eye to eye.

"Thank you for this, Adryn. I can feel myself becoming stronger as we spar." Itachi finally spoke, breaking the comfortable silence we'd fallen into.

"Same. You're a tough opponent." I couldn't hide my smile as I looked over at him. He gave me a soft smile back and began to cough slightly. It wasn't bad but it worried me.

"I'm fine." Itachi instantly told me once the coughing stopped. He didn't cough up blood or anything, so I figured it wasn't really anything to be worried about. Even so, I decided to heal him as Tsunade taught me. "Thank you, again."

"Of course, 'tachi." That time, the "anything for you" was loud and clear. "Well, you go back inside. I'll head home for the day."

"You won't stay here tonight?"

"No, I feel like going home tonight. I don't think Kisame really wants to see me right now." I felt very sad about that. Kisame was one of my closest friends, and to have him suddenly start acting like this, was very hurtful.

"I understand." I then led Itachi back to the mansion and bid him goodnight. Then I headed back to my place, took a shower and headed to bed.

~

I awoke the next morning to Sasuke standing in my bedroom.

"Sakura and I are leaving now, I figured you would want to know before we left," Sasuke stated when I woke up fully and sat up. I then realized that his girlfriend was in my room as well.

"Thank you for telling me, I'd have worried about you guys if you hadn't. Good luck and be safe!"

"We will!" Sakura spoke as she and Sasuke left my bedroom and my house. It was early enough that I decided to just go back to sleep. I wondered if I even wanted to show up at the mansion today at all with how Kisame was acting towards me. If anything, I'd show up really quick to just say hello to Itachi or something. However, sleep came first.


	10. Reconciliation and Introductions

It took a week for Sasuke and Sakura to return to the Mist with Serenity. I was practically bouncing off the walls as I waited at the mansion with Itachi and Kisame. The blue man and I haven't gotten along ever since that conversation, however, we still hang out. He just doesn't talk to me or even look at me. So, I don't talk to him. It makes a very awkward situation for Itachi and I feel bad for him, however, he had gladly put himself in the middle to keep the peace.

"Adryn?" It was Sasuke's voice calling out to me. Instantly, I was up from the couch and out of the living room door. Itachi and Kisame followed closely by. I made my way to the entrance to see Sasuke, Sakura and my beautiful daughter standing there.

"Serenity!" I cried out happily as I immediately made my way to her.

"Mama!" She yelled out as she threw herself into my open arms. I fell to my knees to hug her tightly as I began to tear up.

"It's been so long since I've last seen you, I can't believe you've gotten so big now!" It'd been a year since the last time I'd seen her.

"I'm so happy to see you again! This visit will last a while, right?" She looked at me with big sad eyes and all I could do was smile at her.

"Serenity, you're here to stay now. I'm going to raise you from now on."

"Really, Mama?!" She looked so happy and even began to cry. I couldn't help it and began to cry as well.

"I love you Serenity. So very much."

"I love you too, Mama!" Serenity then noticed the two men who stood behind me. "Who are they?" I stood up and motioned to Itachi.

"This is Sasuke's older brother, Itachi."

"No, he's now Papa."

"What?!" I nearly yelled out at the same time that multiple other people spoke the same thing. Itachi looked shook as Serenity just walked over to him.

"Mama loves you, so you're Papa." Serenity then looked to Kisame and smiled up at him. "You're Uncle Blue!"

"Serenity, you just met them, you can't just..." I trailed off not really knowing what to say, however, Itachi and Kisame both smiled at my daughter.

"It's alright, I'll be Uncle Blue. Itachi, you're now a father." Kisame spoke up with a big smile on his face. He patted Serenity's head and she beamed up at him brightly. She then looked to "Papa" and gave him a questioning look.

"I'll be Papa." Itachi simply stated with a soft smile on his face. Serenity then lifted her arms to him, wanting to be picked up. So, Itachi picked her up and she snuggled into his arms happily.

"I finally have a family!" Hearing those words not only made me happy but also shattered my heart. She'd never had a true family before since Orochimaru never treated her like a granddaughter.

"Yes, you do." Itachi couldn't help but show sadness in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by happiness. I looked to Kisame only to see him turning away from the situation.

"Itachi, watch Serenity, I need to talk to Ki." With that, I quickly followed the blue man. "Ki, wait!" I chased him until we reached his room. Once there, he opened the door, pulled me in and locked the door behind him. "Ki?"

"What if I told you that I want you to be mine? Would you give up Itachi to make me happy?" Kisame questioned as he slammed me against the door. I gasped out, a bit worried but it faded into sadness.

"I would."

"You'd sacrifice your own happiness, for me?" I nodded my head. "Then that's enough for me. After seeing you risk your life for him, it made it real to me that I'd lost you to Itachi."

"Ki..."

"I know I never truly had you but seeing how much you love him..." Kisame trailed off into silence. He then let me go and realized that I'd begun to cry.

"I'm so sorry, maybe in a different world where Itachi didn't exist I could have been yours but I can't just give up on him." I sobbed out as I covered my face with my hands.

"I didn't mean to make you cry, Adryn." Kisame pulled my hands down and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. "Don't cry, I don't know how to deal with a woman crying." His comment made me laugh as the tears began to dry. He wiped them away until nothing was left.

"I'll always be right beside you, even if it's just as a very best friend."

"That's all I'll ask of you." Kisame pulled me into his arms and we stood there for a moment, just hugging each other. He then pulled away and spoke again. "You should get back to Itachi and Serenity."

"I think I need to find Hidan and Kakuzu first. I can't remember why anymore, but I know we were fighting."

"Alright, good luck." With that, I left Kisame's room and headed out to find Hidan first. He was in his room all alone when I found him and knocked on his door.

"Ugh, you, bitch." He grumbled as soon as he saw who knocked on his door. I stopped him from closing the door and began to speak.

"I'm sorry, Hidan. I upset you and I shouldn't have. I kept poking at you when I knew it would only hurt you in the end."

"You are a bitch, you know that, but you weren't totally wrong." Did Hidan just admit that he has a thing for Kakuzu? "No! It's not what you fucking think. Just you being with him bothered the fuck out of me. Every time you showed up, we'd go to fucking bothersome places. Then after the long-ass day of work, I'd have to hear you two fucking and it's just disgusting."

"That was a lot of fuck Hidan," I commented, making him sigh out loud. "I understand why you dislike me and I'm sorry."

"Well, I don't hate you nearly as much as I fucking did before, so I guess it's alright. Just don't fuck around me anymore."

"I promise, no fucking around you ever again." Hidan nodded his head and I left the area to go find Kakuzu. He'd be a little harder to handle. Even though I had no idea why he was angry with me either. I completely forgot about it. I just knew that I needed to make it up to him. Eventually, I found Kakuzu in the living room with Sasori and Deidara. As soon as I entered the room, the redhead and the blond left, leaving me all alone with the man I used to sleep with.

"Go away." Kakuzu instantly said when he saw me. I smiled at him and sat next to him on the couch he was sitting on. "Adryn."

"Kuzu, why are you mad at me?"

"You keep pissing of Hidan and I have to deal with him."

"I just made up with Hidan, so we no longer have any reason to fight."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, so Kuzu, love me again." I leaned over onto him, just to be shoved away so hard I hit the floor. "Ouch," I grumbled instantly as I stood back up.

"I never loved a whore like you."

"That's rude." I nearly didn't believe him but I had to just go with what he said to not piss him off. "But will you admit to loving Hidan? He practically admitted he loves you." To that, I got glared at.

"I'll stop avoiding you, just leave me alone now." He didn't admit it but he didn't deny it either. I'll take that as a win.

"Fine." I then turned around and left the room altogether. I then went to go and find Itachi and Serenity. They were still in the entrance hall with Sasuke and Sakura.

"What took you so long?" Sakura questioned once she saw me. It was almost like she was accusing me of something.

"I had to make up with Hidan and Kuzu as well as Ki. So it took a little longer than expected." Sakura clearly wanted to say something about that, but she was stopped by a little voice speaking up first.

"Mama, I'm tired." Serenity wigged her way out of Itachi's arms and came walking over to me.

"Alright, let's go home and take a nap then." It was about midday anyway so it was the perfect time for a nap. At my little house, I prepared a room just for her so she'd feel like it was home.

"I'll see you later, Papa." Serenity waved to Itachi and began to walk out the front door.

"Hey, you don't know where you're going!" I called out and hurried after her. I waved goodbye to everyone in the entrance and then I grabbed Serenity's hand and began to guide her to where my home was. We walked slowly, enjoying the forest as we walked. There were different birds and different plants than what she was used to, so it was all fascinating for her. Once we got to my home, I let her run in there and check things out.

"Mama, where's my room?" I then guided Serenity to the bedroom right next to mine. It was full of toys and had a big bed in one of the corners.

"Take a nap now, because I'll have to introduce you to a lot of people afterward, alright?"

"Yes, Mama." Serenity then climbed into her bed and got under the covers. She was out nearly immediately. I couldn't help but just stand there and watch her sleep for a few minutes. I felt whole now that she was here. However, I also felt tired, so I went to my own room, leaving the door open in case she woke up before me, and then climbed into my bed. I also was asleep nearly immediately.

~

"Mama... Mama! Wake up!" I was shaken awake little arms. I looked around, confused before remembering that my daughter was now with me.

"How late is it?" I questioned as I looked to Serenity and then out of the window. It was still light outside.

"We slept for a few hours. Uncle Sasuke is here."

"Oh. Why? He probably didn't tell you, did he?" I shook my head, trying to wake up fully. Once I was awake, I climbed out of bed and went into the living room where Sasuke was, just sitting on my couch. "What's up?" Serenity was right next to me and nearly threw herself onto Sasuke's lap. She smiled up at him happily as he gave her a look in return. It wasn't a harsh look, just a happy look. I don't think Sasuke is capable of smiling any longer.

"The Kage want to see you and Serenity right now," Sasuke responded after a moment of making sure that Serenity wasn't going to fall off of him.

"Alright, let's go Serenity, you can play with Uncle Sasuke later." Serenity nodded her head and hopped off of Sasuke's lap. I held out my hand and my child took it, so we left my house, leaving Sasuke in there. He chose to not follow us, but

it was fine, as he was allowed in my house anyway. I trusted him wholeheartedly. So, Serenity and I made our way to the Kage's place. Once in there, we headed to their chamber.

"Oh, hello Adryn, and who's this next to you?" Lady Mizukage's eyes went right for Serenity. My daughter instantly hid behind me.

"This is Serenity, my daughter." I stepped to the side and stood behind Serenity so she couldn't hide any further. She just looked around the room and hesitantly smiled at everyone.

"Hello." Serenity finally spoke up as she looked over to Lady Mizukage. Lady Mizukage responded with a hello of her own. Serenity then looked around the room and hesitantly said hello to everyone else, who in turn said hello to her.

"Was there anything that you all needed or did you just want to meet Serenity?" I finally questioned after they all said their hellos.

"We just wanted to meet her is all." Lady Mizukage responded simply. I nodded my head and took Serenity's hand.

"Well then, we will be at the mansion."

"You're taking her to be around a bunch of criminals?" Lord Tsuchikage questioned, sounding a bit in disbelief.

"I trust that they wouldn't hurt an innocent child," I responded immediately. "If they even tried, I'd deal with them." With that, Serenity and I made our way out of there. We headed to the mansion and went to find Itachi. We eventually found him in the living room with Kisame and Sasori.

"Papa!" Serenity called out as she let go of my hand and ran over to Itachi. Sasori just looked at the situation with confusion.

"'Papa'?" Sasori instantly questioned.

"She immediately took to Itachi. So now he's her 'Papa'." Kisame explained simply as he watched Serenity climb onto Itachi's lap. Itachi helped her out a bit but soon she was situated on him. Once she was properly on Itachi, she looked over to Sasori.

"Hello, Uncle Red." Serenity spoke as she looked directly at the now confused redhead.

"Excuse me?" Sasori seemed to be a bit annoyed by my daughter's naming of him, but after a moment he just sighed to himself. "Hello, child."

"My name is Serenity!" Sasori didn't give Serenity any response. He just got up from his seat and left the room. "He's not nice."

"He'll warm up to you, don't worry kid," Kisame responded patting the girl's head softly.

"Uncle Blue, I'm not a kid!"

"That's just what a kid would say." Serenity then glared at the blue man. Kisame, however, just burst into laughter making Serenity pout.

"So, how was your nap?" Itachi asked, directing the child's attention away from her pouting.

"Mama slept more than I did." Serenity responded simply with a smile on her face.

"So, you took a nap as well?" Itachi turned his attention onto me next.

"I did. However, Serenity woke me up when Sasuke arrived at the house." I responded simply.

"Not at first. First Uncle Sasuke and I talked about how I was liking my new room and my new father."

"I see." I just smiled at my daughter. "And? What did you tell him? Do you like your new room and new father?"

"I love my new room! It's so much brighter and has more toys than my old room with Orochimaru!" Serenity was seemingly thrilled about her new room. "And about my Papa, I love him as well!"

"Thank you, Serenity, that's sweet of you." Itachi gave her a small smile, but she just frowned at him. "What's wrong?" Itachi was clearly worried that he'd just done something wrong.

"You didn't say it back. You don't love me?"

"Serenity, he just met you, love takes a while to grow," I explained to the young girl before she began to cry. She just looked at me, thought it over and nodded her head.

"How long did it take you for you to love Papa?"

"Oh... Um..." I didn't want to say the truth. I'd instantly fell in love with him as soon as I first met him. That'd be bad to admit at that moment, so I just replied something else. "Let's go meet the other residents of the mansion, alright?" Perfect, I'd distracted her, but not the two adults in the room.

"Wait, I want to know too," Kisame spoke up as I pulled Serenity off of Itachi's lap. I ignored him and carried my child out of the room. As soon as we were far enough away, I set her down and we walked, holding hands, to find the next Akatsuki member. The first room we came across was Kakuzu's. So, I knocked on his door, fully knowing that Hidan was in there as well.

"What do you-" Kakuzu paused in his grumbling as he looked down at my side. "What is that?"

"'That' is my child, Serenity. I want everyone to meet her since she'll be living with me and seeing everyone every day now." I simply responded as I slightly glared at Kakuzu.

"She doesn't fucking look anything like you, bitch! Are you sure she'd your fucking child?!" That was Hidan's response as he approached the door behind Kakuzu.

"I went through 18 hours of labor to have her, so yeah, I'm fucking sure she's mine!" I snapped back instantly causing Hidan to just glare down at my child.

"Uncle Kuzu and Uncle Silver!" Serenity didn't seem to understand the annoyance the two men had towards her, or maybe she didn't care at all about it.

"The fuck?! 'Uncle Silver'?"

"Your hair is silver, therefore-"

"I got it, bitch!" Hidan snapped, cutting me off.

"Hidan, stop swearing around the child."

"I'll fucking say whatever the fuck I fucking feel like saying!" Hidan threw a few more fucks in there than usual, just to make his point I'd assume. I just sighed and tugged Serenity away from the now arguing men. The next room we came across was Deidara's, so I knocked on his door. He opened it up and seemed to notice Serenity right away.

"Is that your kid, hm?" Deidara immediately questioned. I just nodded my head.

"My name is Serenity."

"Hello, Serenity, hm." My little girl then noticed his hands and her face lit up.

"You have mouths on your hands! That's so cool, Uncle Yellow!"

"'Uncle who now, hm?"

"She bases names off of hair color." I simply explain to the confused male. He just nodded his head, seemingly accepting that.

"Why do you have mouths on your hands?" Serenity questioned, bringing the conversation back to her.

"That's a secret, hm." She didn't like that, so she began to pout.

"Come on now, Serenity, we have a few others to say hello to." I pulled her along with me as I began to walk away. We headed towards the furthest rooms from the living room now. Those rooms were Konan's, Nagato's and Obito's. They seemed to be all in one place, so I headed towards what I think is Nagato's room. Once there, I knocked and smiled at Konan when she answered it.

"Hello, Adryn, and who is this that you have with you?" Konan questioned when she looked down to see Serenity.

"My name is Serenity. Mama is my mama."

"I see. Well, I'm Konan, this is Nagato and Obito."

"Aunt Blue and Uncle Black." Serenity corrected the woman. She then paused and made a face. "What should I call him, there's already an Uncle Red." Serenity looked up at me for help. I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn't know what to call him.

"How about Uncle White? When I run out of chakra, my hair still turns white." Nagato questioned, making Serenity smile at him. She nodded her head.

"So, that's everyone. Let's go back to Itachi and Kisame now." I spoke to Serenity as I  
grabbed her hand once again. She nodded her head again and followed after me as I began to walk away. "So what do you think about the residents here?"

"I like them. Uncle Red is a bit mean though, and Uncle Silver swears too much. Uncle Kuzu doesn't like, I think."

"Why doesn't he get a color for a name?"

"He's special to you, or at least was, right Mama?" I was taken aback by that comment. I just sighed and nodded my head. "I could sense unresolved tension from him towards you, but I don't know what it means."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," I replied as we continued to walk around the mansion. Eventually, we made out way back towards the living room, but Serenity's stomach began to growl. So we headed into the kitchen instead. There was some cereal there that she could eat and I became hungry as well, so we ended up eating some together. While we were eating Kisame and Itachi entered the kitchen, wondering what we were doing.

"We were hungry." Serenity simply explained to the two men when they questioned what we were doing.

"So, did you meet everyone?" Itachi asked the young girl. She nodded her head happily.

"Yup, and named everyone." Serenity then went through all the names of the Akatsuki members.

"Why does Kakuzu get a non-color?" Kisame asked once Serenity was done speaking. She just giggled though and shook her head.

"Hey, Mama, why didn't you answer my question from a while ago?" Serenity seemed to just think of that. I sighed and shook my head. "Is it embarrassing? Did you fall in love with Papa at first sight?" Serenity seemed happy to think that and my red face seemed to answer her question.

"Oh really? Instantly, huh?" Kisame's voice sounded unsure.

"Don't say it like that. It wasn't completely at first sight..." I was lying and it was obvious.

"For a ninja, you're a terrible liar," Kisame stated simply causing my face to get even redder.

"Papa?" Serenity questioned, losing interest in mine and Kisame's conversation.

"What is it Serenity?" Itachi responded as he looked over to the young girl.

"Do you love Mama?" Itachi seemed to think about her question for a moment before responding.

"That's complicated."

"How?"

"You'll understand when you're older," I responded instantly, trying to stop the topic. I didn't want to have him say no, and have my heart shatter completely. I hated this topic and wanted to avoid it as much as possible. Serenity just made a face at us and finished up her cereal. She then jumped down from her seat and headed into the living room. I finished up my cereal and followed her along with the guys. "Are you pouting now?"

"Yes." She was sitting in the middle of the room with her arms and legs crossed.

"I see. Well, what would make you feel better?"

"You kissing Papa."

"Huh? What? No?" I was thrown off completely. However, it looked as though Itachi and Kisame were also thrown off. "I can't just kiss someone who doesn't want to be kissed, Serenity."

"Maybe he does want to kiss you, Mama, maybe you just don't know it yet."

"Either way, it's not appropriate for someone to kiss someone else if they aren't romantically involved."

"Says the whore." We all turned to the living room door to see Hidan standing there with Kakuzu behind him.

"You know what Hidan, how about you just-" Kisame put his hand over my mouth before I could say something bad in front of Serenity.

"Mama, what's a 'whore'?"

"It's someone who sleeps around with multiple different people," Kakuzu answered instead of me.

"Hey! I don't do that anymore and I haven't done that in years! Therefore, I'm not a whore anymore!"

"'Anymore'," Kakuzu stated in his normal voice with a hint of annoyance thrown in there.

"Who do you think I'm sleeping with now?!"

"We probably shouldn't be having this conversation around the child."

"Mama, do you want to sleep with Papa?" Serenity's innocent question nearly caused me to literally drop dead at that moment. However, within a second I recovered and responded to my child.

"No, I don't."

"You don't?!" Hidan yelled out, completely confused.

"My feelings aren't like that."

"How can you love someone and not want to fuck them?" I couldn't help but shrug as the adults in the room looked at me for an explanation.

"I've loved Itachi since I was a child. My feelings didn't involve anything sexual then, and I guess they don't now. I don't know, I never thought of it."

"However, you loved Kisame and it was sexual, so you're capable of feeling such a thing." Kakuzu simply stated causing Serenity to gasp out.

"Mama is having an affair with Uncle Blue?"

"What?! No, of course, I'm not! I'm not having an affair with anyone! That's impossible considering I'm still an independent single woman!" I was getting flustered and hearing Hidan begin to laugh at me, wasn't helping anything.

"Mama-"

"Nope! No more questions from you." I instantly picked up Serenity into my arms. "It's time to go. It's getting dark now anyway." I then glared at Hidan and Kakuzu before looking to Itachi and Kisame. "We'll see you two tomorrow. Goodnight." Before anyone could say anything in return, I fled from the room with my child in my arms. Thankfully, no one followed us and we managed to make it out of the mansion without any trouble. Hopefully, tomorrow they'll have let go of the situation.


	11. Missing

About a week flew by. It went by rather quickly. It was full of laughter and happiness, well as much as the Akatsuki can be happy and laugh. Speaking of them, the Akatsuki members all have grown attached to Serenity and she's gotten attached to them. Even Kakuzu and Hidan eventually began to like the little girl. They all accepted their names and that she was going to be there to stay. It was a little worrisome at first when certain Akatsuki members interacted with Serenity, but everything turned out okay.

Currently, Serenity has recruited most of the members to play hide and seek with her. She informed me that she was a big girl now and she could hide on her own, so reluctantly, I allowed her to do so. I was deemed the seeker and was now searching through the mansion for those who decided to play. It was pretty much everyone, except Kakuzu and Sasori.

I haven't found a single person yet due to me not using my sensory abilities, but I had a feeling I was coming across someone soon. I was searching every room, other than Kakuzu and Sasori's rooms. No one was allowed to hide in them. So that left me currently in the kitchen heading into the living room.

"Where are you people?! This is getting ridiculous! I'm going to start cheating now." I muttered out loud, however before I could start sensing the people around me, Deidara popped out of a cupboard.

"That's not fair, hm!"

"Found you!" I called out pointing at Deidara with a laugh. "Now you have to help me find the others."

"Dammit, you really are a bitch, hm!" He realized that I had tricked him into exposing himself. He went along with it anyway though. So now it was Deidara and I searching for the rest of them. The next person to be found was Obito. He'd hidden in the living room behind one of the couches. Not a good hiding spot, but hey at least he was playing.

After that was Itachi, who'd hidden in the infirmary, along with Kisame who also hid in there. Neither knew that the other was there though, so it was a surprise for all of us involved. After that, we spit up into two teams and began searching. I was with Itachi and Deidara, Obito and Kisame were together.

"Should I just start sensing people? It'd go a lot faster if I did so." I looked over to Itachi, who thought about it for a moment and then nodded his head.

"You might as well, or else we might actually be here all day." Itachi finally responded simply. I nodded my head and began to sense those around me. It wasn't that large of a radius, but I was now able to find someone. I believe it was Hidan. He managed to worm his way into the ceiling and was crawling around up there. So, I led Itachi to where he currently was and knocked the ceiling tile out of place, causing the religious man to come crashing down.

"Ow! You fucking bitch! I swear to Lord Jashin I'm going to fucking sacrifice you!" Hidan yelled out once he recovered from the fall. I helped him stand up but refused to help him brush off all the dust and possible spiders he now had on him. "How did you fucking find me?!"

"...I heard you?" I replied more as a question than a statement. He just looked at me and glared.

"You bitch, you sensed me, didn't you? Who let the fucking sensory ninja be the seeker?!" Hidan was outraged, but eventually got over it and helped us search for others. Eventually, we met back up with the other group, who now consisted of Nagato and Konan. Meaning all the Akatsuki members were now found.

"Wait, no one found Serenity?" I questioned when I realized that she was the only one left now. I tried it sense around to figure out where she was, but I didn't sense her at all.

"We need to search for her, all of us." Itachi had a hint of worry in his voice now. So, we all split up and searched the entire mansion. I sensed around and couldn't find her at all. No matter where I went, I couldn't sense her presence. We all ended up meeting up in the entrance, only to find the ANBU there unconscious.

"What the fuck is going on?" Hidan grumbled when he realized that something was up now. We all began to truly worry now. I went over to one of the ANBU and realized there was a note attached to him.

"What does it say?" Itachi questioned as he approached me to see what I had in my hand.

"It says, 'I have our daughter now. You were foolish to ever let her out of your sight. Tell Mei that if she doesn't step down as Mizukage, I will kill Serenity. You have until tomorrow to decide.'" I responded as my voice and whole body began to shake. My knees went weak and I nearly fell to the floor. However, Itachi kept me standing and took the note from me. He reread it to himself in disbelief. "How could anyone get in here without us knowing?" I mumbled mostly to myself.

"We need to report this, but first we need to wake up the ANBU to figure out what exactly happened here." Itachi took control of the situation. He ordered Kisame to wake up one while Itachi woke up the other. Once awake, the men explained that they were attacked by other ANBU and were easily taken down due to their initial shock. That was all they remembered.

"I see..." I couldn't believe it. That must mean that some of the ANBU had defected to Ao's faction. We hadn't considered that before. "I need to go tell the Kage what happened. I'll be back." My voice was void of emotion as I walked out of the door, ignoring the calls from Itachi and Kisame asking me if I was alright. I couldn't think of myself at that moment anyway. It didn't matter if I was alright or not, I just needed to do my job and notify the Kage of the events that'd taken place. Then we figure out what to do, and only then would I be able to worry about whether I was alright or not.

"Oh, Adryn, what's gotten you all worked up?" Lady Mizukage noticed how upset I was immediately as soon as I'd gotten in the room.

"Ao has Serenity." I then explained the situation to them and told them everything that I knew at that moment. "So, what should we do? Obviously, you can't step down as Mizukage. So we need to form a plan of attack."

"We will use the Akatsuki to attack Ao and force him to give Serenity back one way or another." Lady Mizukage stated instantly.

"Do you think the Akatsuki would be alright with that?" Lord Hokage questioned as he doubted her plan.

"They love Serenity, so yes, they will. Plus I have their trust, for the most part, so they'll probably do as I say." I explained to them.

"Alright. Tell them about the attack and we will send you out tomorrow." Lady Mizukage confirmed the plan.

"Why tomorrow?" I demanded, instantly angry.

"You are too in your emotions right now, you aren't thinking straight." I wanted to argue with her, but she was right. I was practically vibrating with emotion. So, I just sighed and turned around to head back to the Akatsuki members. "Adryn, we will get Serenity back and take care of Ao for good."

"I know we will." I agreed with Lady Mizukage and then left the room. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to head back to the mansion, but I knew that I had to, to inform them of the situation. So, that's where I went.

"Adryn!" Kisame instantly approached me once I got in the mansion. He and Itachi had been sitting there, waiting for me to return.

"Hey Ki," I muttered as I walked towards him. Itachi was right next to Kisame as the blue man reached me.

"What's the plan?" Itachi asked immediately. I looked at him and could see the urgency in his eyes.

"Tomorrow we'll all go get Serenity back and deal with Ao."

"Why tomorrow?" Kisame questioned curiously.

"I'm too emotional right now." It was taking everything I had to not break down right now. I wanted to just collapse to the ground and scream or cry or both.

"What can we do to help?" Kisame was clearly worried about me. I looked at my very best friend and just blankly looked at him.

"I think I should just go home for the day. I don't really feel like being around anyone."

"I don't think that's a good idea. You shouldn't be alone." Itachi stated instantly as he took hold of one of my hands. He tugged on it, getting me to follow him. He then led me and Kisame to the living room and sat down on the couch, making me sit down with him.

"'tachi?"

"He's right. You should be with us. We all cared about her too. We all feel how you do." Kisame spoke up as he sat on a chair across from us.

"I am her mother though. It's my job to keep her safe. What if she's going to be hurt or worse?"

"I don't think Ao would really hurt her. He's her father, there must be some form of love there, right?"

"I know he won't hurt her," Itachi muttered finally. "I also know we will get her back and she'll be alright."

"If you say so..." I mumbled softly. I just looked at the ground, unsure of what else to say.

"You have to think positively, Adryn. Don't you trust us?" Kisame reached over and took my other hand. "We will get her back and she will be just fine." Having both men I adored tell me such a thing seemed to help bring me out of my darkness. After the darkness began to clear, a wave of exhaustion hit me. I couldn't help but just lean against the couch.

"Okay, I believe you, both of you. Now can I get some sleep? I suddenly feel so tired."

"Very well, we'll walk you to your room." Itachi stood up, causing me to stand up, which then caused Kisame to stand up since we were all linked by our hands still. The three of us walked through the halls linked together. We passed Hidan and Kakuzu, which were both showing clear confusion at the situation, but Kakuzu kept Hidan silent. Once we were at our rooms, Itachi opened up my bedroom door and let go of my hand. "We will explain the plans to everyone else. You just get some rest."

"We'll wake you when everyone is ready in the morning," Kisame promised as he let go of my other hand. I nodded my head and entered my room. I chose to not lock it this time, as I felt

that everyone in the mansion wouldn't even try to hurt me. I just walked over the bed next, and then fell into it, barely covering myself up as I did.

I didn't fall asleep right away. Instead, I dwelled on the situation. My precious daughter was missing and I didn't know where she was, or what was happening to her. I just hoped that nothing bad was going on with her. I hoped that somewhere deep in Ao's heart, he loved our daughter and wouldn't dare hurt a hair on her head. With those thoughts in my mind, I fell asleep.

~

"...Adryn... Adryn! Hey, it's morning, wake up!" I shot up in bed, but the force caused me to tumble out of the bed and hit the floor.

"Fuck that hurt..." I grumbled as I slowly picked myself up from the floor. I looked up to see the worried faces of Kisame and Itachi standing over me. Both men instantly went into action and helped me up off the floor.

"Are you alright, Adryn?" Itachi questioned as I dusted myself off and fixed my clothing.

"I'm just fine," I muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"The Kage have given us the orders to head out with some ANBU when we're ready. So, let's go." Kisame stated, causing me to snap my head up to look at him.

"Really? Now?"

"Yes, now, like right now. Everyone is in the entrance hall waiting for us."

"Oh, okay then." I nodded my head and began to leave the room. I paused to turn around when I realized that they weren't following me. "What's up?"

"Are you sure you're ready to fight Ao? It might not end the same way as last time. You might have to kill him." Itachi questioned as he turned to look at me. I just smiled at him.

"If it means getting my daughter back, I'll do anything." With that, the three of us headed out and made our way to everyone else.

"What fucking took you so long?!" Hidan yelled as soon as he saw us.

"I literally just woke up a few fucking minutes ago, Hidan. So shut the fuck up." That seemed to be enough to shut the man up. Also, Kakuzu telling him to shut up seemed to help the situation as well.

So, with everyone, including a few ANBU to guide us there, we headed out. I stayed with Itachi and Kisame like last time. No one spoke this time around. Everyone knew the gravity of the situation. They knew that this could very well be life or death for Serenity. So, with silence in the air, we made the hour-long journey to where Ao's hideout was. We never made it there before, but this time we did. He seemed surprised to see us, as it took a minute or two for everyone to exit the hideout and for the fight to begin.

The Akatsuki and ANBU all began to fight with me entering the hideout. I had to take out a few men here and there, but nothing serious. No one seemed to pose a threat to me. With the Rinnegan I'd awaken before, normal men weren't a threat to me. It was fairly easy to get to the room where Ao and Serenity were.

"I never expected you to come here like this, Adryn," Ao stated as he held Serenity in his arms with a kunai to her throat. "This was a stupid plan."

"Your plan was the stupid one, Ao. To think that I wouldn't do anything necessary to get my child back. You are the true idiot in this situation." I growled back instantly.

"Mama!" Serenity cried out terrified at the situation. "Is this really my father?" Her voice quaked as she spoke up.

"Yes. Serenity, Ao is truly your father. However, he will kill you. So that makes him a terrible father. Just keep thinking of Itachi as your Papa. He'll make a better father to you than Ao ever could."

"Be silent! You think I wouldn't be a good father to our daughter?!" Ao yelled out, immediately angry at my words.

"Dude, you're threatening to kill her right now. That makes you a terrible father." Ao seemed to think about my words, before pulling the kunai away and throwing Serenity off to the side.

"Fine, I'll just kill you instead." That began a fight between Ao and me. Attack for attack, we seemed to be fairly even with each other. That was until he was able to get the drop on me and cut my arm with the kunai. It was only then that I realized that the weapon had poison on it. I was immune to poison, but instantly something felt wrong. I collapsed to the ground and began to cough up blood. "This poison is specially made just for you."

"Mama!" Serenity instantly ran over to me and began to panic. Ao stepped closer to us, and she picked up one of the Kiba blades and held it out in front of her. "Stay back!" That was when Ao and I both realized that her eyes had changed. They were now Sharingan and were filled with anger and fear. "I won't let you hurt Mama!"

"Alright, I won't hurt her anymore. She'll die soon enough anyway." With that, Ao left the room. Moments later, Itachi and Kisame came bursting into the room. They saw me on the floor and Serenity looking at me with fear in her eyes.

"What happened?" Itachi demanded immediately. Serenity began to tear up as she explained all that'd happened to me. However, I slowly began to sit up and made it to my knees.

"I'll be fine. He forgot something important." I muttered as the coughing subsided.

"Mama?" Serenity looked at me confused, but I just smiled at her.

"I regenerate instantly. Any part of me that dies will just come back. My blood will eventually overcome the poison and I'll be fine. I just don't think I'll be able to move for a little while."

"I'll carry her. You carry the kid." Kisame instructed Itachi as the blue man approached me. Itachi did as he said and went to Serenity. Kisame gently lifted me into his arms, and once Itachi had Serenity, he left the room with Itachi following closely behind.

"What all happened while I was gone? Is it all over?" I questioned to Kisame as we made our way through the hideout.

"Most of them surrendered. The rest were killed. They will be taken back and locked away for the rest of their lives I guess." Kisame responded simply to me. I nodded my head and sighed. "What's wrong?"

"Ao got away again. I couldn't stop him or even kill him. I failed."

"We got Serenity back, that's all that matter in the end, right?" I thought about Kisame's words for a few moments before nodding my head.

"You're right, thank you."

~

After we made it back to the others, we all headed back to the little town we were living in. The traitors were indeed all locked away and would probably stay there for the rest of their lives.

So with that situation finally behind us all, everything went back to normal. With one exception. A few days after the situation with Ao, Itachi called me into his room to have a private conversation with him. I was very nervous, but accepted his invitation and entered his room, with him closing the door behind us.

"What did you want to talk about, 'tachi?" I questioned when I finally couldn't take the silence any further. Itachi walked over to his bed and sat down, then motioned for me to sit down next to him. I followed his request and sat down on his bed next to him. I looked over at him, extremely confused. I watched as he took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts before finally speaking to me.

"I am growing feelings for you, romantic feelings." Itachi finally said after a long silence. I just blinked and stared at him for a moment as I processed what he'd said. "I realized my feelings a little while ago, but then things happened and I never got the chance to confess to you. However, after seeing you coughing up blood, it scared me and made me realize that I needed to tell you before anything else happened. I no longer will hide my feelings for you and I would like to continue to grow them with you." I had to think about all he'd said before I finally spoke up.

"I'm glad you told me. You can't imagine how happy hearing all this from you makes me."

"Then what I'm about to say is probably going to make you happier. I would like to officially become your boyfriend. If that is alright with you." Itachi looked directly at me, causing my heart to skip a beat. This was so strange for the both of us. We had never had this type of conversation before and Itachi had never expressed his true feelings to me before. So this was all new territory for both of us.

"I'd like that a lot." I finally admitted with a smile on my face. Itachi seemed to relax slightly after I spoke showing that he was most likely nervous to have this conversation with me. "Let's take things slowly, it's been... a while since either of us dated anyone." Saying it's been a while was an exaggeration considering Itachi hadn't been with anyone since before he had to kill his clan, and I hadn't been with anyone since before the war.

"You read my mind. I was about to say the same thing." Itachi spoke up as he looked away from me. He then seemed to think about something. "How will Kisame take this?" Oh boy, that's a good question.

"I... hope he'll take it well, but I guess we won't know until we tell him."

"Would you like to tell him now?"

"We might as well, but you have to be there too for moral support." I smiled again at Itachi and he gave me a slight smile back as he nodded his head. So, we both got up from his bed and left his room, with Itachi guiding me to the living room where Kisame was with Kakuzu and Hidan.

"You two disappeared and were gone for a fucking long time, what were you two doing?" Hidan demanded as soon as he saw Itachi and I. "Were you fucking?"

"Of course not, Itachi isn't that type of guy," I responded, before realizing that I totally just outed myself as that type of girl. "We were just talking is all."

"You and he finally got together, right? You're dating?" It was Kisame who'd spoken up, stopping Hidan from making any more remarks. Itachi and I both looked over to our friend and studied his face. There was no hint of anger or malice in his face at all, nor his voice. "I'm not angry or upset, don't worry."

"Are you sure you're willing to lose to Itachi?" Kakuzu questioned the blue man, who just smiled over to him.

"I'm willing to let her go, to ensure she's happy. Are you okay with this, Kakuzu?"

"What a stupid question, all she was to me was a whore." Kakuzu's answer made me frown, but I didn't say anything back.

"Careful, you should talk about Itachi's girlfriend like that. You don't know what he'd do." Kisame warned with a smirk on his face. I couldn't help but smile at his words as well as I looked over to Itachi, who had nothingness on his face.

"You good?" I had to ask Itachi instantly. He just looked at me and gave me a soft smile, however, something was hidden within it.

"Everything is just fine." There was a hint of strain in his voice, but I wrote it off to him just being tired. I had no idea that was the start of everything falling apart.


	12. Medical Issues

A few days after Itachi and I became a couple, everything went downhill. I arrived at the mansion with Serenity only to find that Itachi hadn't gotten out of bed that morning. Kisame explained to me that Itachi had been off the night before after Serenity and I had left, making me extremely worried. So I left Serenity with Kisame and headed to Itachi's room. Upon entering the room, I was horrified. Itachi was passed out on the floor, nearly at his bed. He had dried blood around his mouth and on his hands. It seemed like he had an episode and fallen unconscious before he was able to make it to his bed.

"Itachi!" I cried out instantly as I made my way to him. I lifted him gently off the floor and began to examine him. It seemed like his heart was still beating, but it was strangled and sounding difficult. I immediately began to heal him, but I could tell that nothing was happening. I wasn't able to heal the man I loved and I wasn't sure if he'd ever wake up again. So, I set him back down on the floor and hurried off to get Sakura and Sasuke. "Sakura! Sasuke, you guys need to come quick, something happened!" I was vague for a reason. I didn't want the others to know quite yet.

"What's going on? Did something happen?" Sakura questioned as she followed me with Sasuke right behind her.

"I found Itachi and he doesn't look too good." I simply explained as we all hurried off to Itachi's room. Once in there, Sakura immediately moved into action. She gently picked Itachi up and examined him.

"Something is wrong, his medication shouldn't allow him to react like this. Was he taking it every day as we told him to?" I nodded my head and told her that he was indeed taking it every day. "I don't understand then, why is he relapsing?"

"He didn't seem right a few days ago, maybe this has been going on and he's been hiding it? Maybe all the fighting he's done has caused his illness to flare up and get worse?"

"I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that we need to get him to the infirmary. We need to check him out properly there." Sakura looked to Sasuke and the man instantly moved towards her and Itachi. He gently picked up his brother and headed to the infirmary with Sakura and I following closely behind. Once there, we watched as Sasuke set the man down on the table and backed away.

Sakura and I immediately went to work. We removed Itachi's shirt and checked his chest and all the organs there. We realized that there was something not only wrong with his heart but a few other organs as well. It was painfully obvious that if nothing was done, then Itachi would die. I couldn't let that happen, so I immediately began to question Sakura.

"What can we do to help him? Is there any medication that can help?"

"I don't think so, Adryn. I think all we can do for him now, is make him comfortable as we try to figure this out. We need to make sure he stays alive until we can figure out how to save his life." Sakura simply responded as she laid Itachi's shirt back over him to cover him up. She then moved to look through the medical cabinets. There she got a few things out and put them on a table. She then began to mix things and put them in an IV drip for Itachi. Once she was done with that, she put the IV in his arm. "This should keep him alive for a little while, but we need to figure out what's wrong with him."

"How will we figure that out? We thought we figured it out before, but we clearly didn't. We need help."

"I think I know who can help us," Sasuke stated that then left the room. Sakura and I just stood there, confused, but ultimately, we just accepted it. Eventually, Sakura bid me farewell and left me alone in the room with Itachi. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do now, but I figured that Kisame would want to know, so I kissed Itachi's forehead and left the room as well. I hurried off to Kisame, who was in the living room. Once there, I pulled him and Serenity aside to inform them.

"What's going on, Adryn?" Kisame questioned as soon as he saw the look on my face.

"Itachi isn't doing too good. He... he might not pull through this time." I explained with a frown on my face. I was trying hard to keep it together, but it wasn't working. Kisame could clearly see it in me.

"He'll be okay. He's a strong man." Kisame patted me on my back as Serenity hugged me.

"It'll be okay, Mama. Papa is strong!" Serenity spoke as she looked up to me. I couldn't help but let a few tears escape as I reached down to hug my child.

"I know, honey, I know, but I'm still scared," I informed my child as I held her. "I'm scared that I'll lose Itachi." I couldn't help but let a few more tears escape my eyes. I felt Kisame crouch down with us and wrap his arms around both of us.

"Everything will be okay, Adryn, don't you worry. Itachi wouldn't leave you two like this." Kisame said to reassure Serenity and I. I nodded my head and leaned into him. I wasn't sure what to do now, but I knew that I wanted to be by Itachi's side for as long as I could be. So once I could stand again, I planned to head to Itachi's bedside to watch over him.

~

A few days passed by with Itachi's condition unchanged. I remained by his side with Serenity the entire time. We hadn't seen Sasuke in that time either. It was a little concerning, due to my assumption that he'd want to spend time with his brother, but I wasn't worried too badly. I knew that no matter what, Sasuke would be alright and he'd appear with "who can help us" eventually. "Eventually" turned into today as Sasuke arrived in the infirmary, bursting through the doors.

"Is my brother still alive?" Sasuke questioned as soon as he was through the door. I looked up to him and nodded my head. It was only me and him in the room currently, other than the unconscious Itachi. "Good, I think I have people who can help." Sasuke moved out of the doorway, to reveal Kabuto and a much younger Orochimaru.

"Kabuto? Father? What is going on here?" I questioned when I saw the two of them. I was shocked and confused. "How can they help Itachi?"

"You see, my daughter, Kabuto and I were asked by Sasuke to look into his brother's illness. I think we have come across a cure for him." Orochimaru responded as he looked over from me to Itachi. "I believe that it all stems from his heart."

"Explain more?" I questioned after Orochimaru stopped talking for a moment.

"We believe that Itachi's heart isn't working as well as it's supposed to. Therefore nothing in his body is operating the way it's supposed to." Kabuto responded in place of Orochimaru. He made sure to say "we" instead of "I" like my father did.

"His heart? How is someone supposed to fix that?" Orochimaru and Kabuto then looked to me.

"Only you can save Itachi's life now." Orochimaru began to explain to me. "We plan to remove your heart and implant it into Itachi. Since your heart will grow back in time."

"Let's do it!" I immediately spoke up, but Sasuke was a bit hesitant and spoke up as soon as I did.

"There are many dangers to this. You might never wake up if this happens." Sasuke seemed worried for me.

"I'll do anything as long as Itachi gets better." My resolve was absolute. I was going to do this, and Itachi was going to get better and I'd wake up eventually. I mean hopefully, I'd wake up. Regenerating a heart was difficult and more intense than regenerating a wound. Even so, I'd do anything in my power to help the man that I loved with all my heart.

"Very well. Let's get started." Orochimaru stated, confusing me a bit.

"Don't we need to go to a better facility to do the surgeries?" I questioned confusedly. This was just a simple infirmary, we couldn't do a surgery here, right? However, Orochimaru just smirked at me.

"No, my dear. This will do." Orochimaru led me to a patient table/bed thing next to Itachi. "Sasuke, leave the room and make sure no one enters."

"...Fine." Sasuke seemingly reluctantly, left the room. I could feel that he was standing outside the door, ready to come in at any point. He clearly didn't want to leave me in the hands of two former criminals. Even so, I trusted my father to an extent and Kabuto was once a good friend of mine. So I knew that neither of them would hurt me intentionally.

"Now Adryn, we will put you under anesthesia for this so you won't feel a thing," Kabuto explained to me as he went through the cabinets to find what he was looking for. Once he found it, he grabbed it and pulled out a needle. I instantly looked away as I couldn't really handle needles.

"I really won't feel anything? Will Itachi?" I finally asked to distract myself from the needle being filled with liquid.

"He'll be fine, you both will be."

"Alright..." I was feeling hesitant now, but I knew everything would be fine. So, I just laid down on the table/bed and allowed the two to do whatever they needed to do to me. As Kabuto injected me with the anesthesia, I closed my eyes and allowed the medication to take me into a deep sleep.

~

Darkness was all I could see, but I could hear many things. The sound of feet shuffling and the whispers of people around me. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was still asleep, but was also wide awake at the same time. I was conscious, but I couldn't open my eyes or move a muscle. That could only mean one thing. I was in a coma.

After a few minutes, or what felt like minutes, I could hear someone come close to me. They took my hand and began to speak to me.

"Adryn." It was Kisame's voice. I would know that voice anywhere. "Wake up, alright? You can't stay in a coma for the rest of your life. I know you wouldn't like that. We all need you to wake up. Serenity misses you and Itachi is upset with you. He can't believe you'd risk your life for him. He's grateful but angry that you are like this now." Kisame paused as if he was pondering something. "I guess you'd want to know about how Itachi's surgery went. He's doing just fine. Yesterday he was cleared to get up from the bed he was trapped in and leave the infirmary. However, he won't leave your side. I had to force him to go take a shower and take care of himself just to be able to talk to you alone. The others are going to come in after me as well. We all are worried about you." I felt Kisame lean down and press his lips to my forehead. "I need you to wake up, Adryn. I can handle you being with Itachi, but I can't handle you being like this."

With that, Kisame left the room and I could hear the door close. I wasn't sure what I felt at that moment. I could hear how torn up Kisame was over me being in a coma. I could practically feel the heartbreak he was going through. I could only imagine how upset Itachi was with me right now. I'm sure Kisame only said the bare minimum about how Itachi was feeling. Even so, he was alright and that was all that mattered. However, I couldn't help but feel a little bad. Serenity missed me and that hurt me. I hoped I'd wake up soon.

I'm not sure how long it took for the door to open again, but eventually, I heard the creaking of it and then footsteps coming towards me.

"Hey, bitch." It was Hidan. If I could have smiled, I would have at that moment. I could hear the lack of bitterness in his voice as he spoke to me. "I can't believe you are so willing to throw away your life for that fuck. I don't understand how you could love someone so much to risk never waking up... Then again, I guess I understand a little bit." I could only assume he was talking about someone he loved, and if I could speak, I would have teased him about Kakuzu. However, I couldn't, so I didn't. "You just need to wake up. Your fucking brat is crying all the time and is desperate for you to wake your ass up. So wake up." With those words, Hidan hurried out of the room. I could hear his fast footsteps leaving the room, however, I didn't hear the door close behind him. I could sense someone standing in the doorway. Slowly, the person approached me and stopped directly next to me.

"You are an idiot." It was Kakuzu speaking to me now. "You are a fool and a dumbass. Even more than Hidan. You should never have risked your life for Itachi. You should have let him die." Kakuzu then began to walk away from me but paused. "Wake up, Adryn. It's much better to have you annoying me than not hearing you at all." Then Kakuzu left the room and closed the door behind him.

No one else came to me that day. It was lonely just laying there. Especially boring as well since I couldn't move or speak. It sucked. However, eventually, I fell into the darkness.

~

"Adryn." I heard my name being called by a familiar voice. It was Sasuke. So, I regained my consciousness to listen to what he had to say. "Adryn, I should have stopped you from doing this. I shouldn't have let you save my brother. It posed too much of a risk to you. I had a feeling that this would happen." Sasuke then paused and I could hear him moving closer. "You need to wake up. You've been a constant in my life for so long, I'm not sure what I'd do if you were gone. Besides, my brother needs you now. Serenity needs you as well. You have to wake up." I wanted to respond to him so badly, but I couldn't. So I just listened as he walked away and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I couldn't believe that I just had to lay here and listen to my friends and family tell me all this. I knew that I needed to wake up, but I wasn't sure how. I couldn't force myself to wake up no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to desperately, but waking up just wasn't an option right now.

Soon, the door opening again brought me out of my thoughts. I could hear someone approach me, and then just stand there. It was like they were thinking about what to say. I then realized who it was. It was my father, Orochimaru. I was a little shocked at that. I never expected him to approach me like this.

"Kabuto told me I should come in here and speak to you. He thinks that you might be able to hear us talking to you. So Adryn, I'll tell you this once. You need to wake up. You are my only child, for now, it would be disappointing if you were to die like this." I can't say I was shocked at how my father was speaking and the words he said. He almost sounded like he didn't care, but did care all at the same time. "Many people would be upset with you if you didn't wake up. They'll all blame me and Kabuto if you remain like this. So, my daughter, wake up. If not for my sake, then for your own daughter's sake." With those words, Orochimaru patted my hand and then exited the room. Moments, or what seemed like moments later, Kabuto entered the room. I could feel him right from the start.

"I know you can hear me." Kabuto started as he came closer to me. "I'll start with telling you how devastated Serenity is. She refuses to eat or drink or even sleep. Itachi and Kisame have to force her to eat and when she sleeps, it's only because she's too tired to remain awake any longer. I'm sure you don't want that kind of life for your child, so wake up Adryn. It isn't good for you to remain asleep for much longer. I fear that if you don't wake up soon, you'll never wake up at all. Force yourself to heal and awaken if you must. Just do it quickly." Kabuto reached out and grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "We all want you back. You and I were once very close, I'd like to regain that friendship but only if you wake up." Kabuto paused and then began to speak again after he'd let go of my hand. "I believe that Itachi loves you deeply. You should have seen the look on his face when Lord Orochimaru and I informed him of the state you're in. He just doesn't realize it or isn't ready to admit it yet. However, I'm sure when he comes to see you, he'll explain all this to you as well." Kabuto then began to walk away but paused to speak one last time. "Remember what I said, you only have a short window left to wake back up. Don't miss it." With those words lingering in the air, Kabuto left the room.

Hearing what he had to say gave me anxiety. I couldn't believe that I might never wake up. I never once thought about something like that. I always thought that in time I would wake up, but now it seems like I don't have the time to just dwell on this and take my time. I needed to wake up and I needed it to happen now. The man I'd loved for so long just confessed to me and became mine, I couldn't just let that go and break his heart now. Not only that, but I just got my child back and can grow a good relationship with her so I couldn't let that go either. I needed to wake up.

In my thoughts, I didn't realize that the door opened, until two sets of feet came shuffling towards me. It broke me out of my terror-filled thinking and back to reality. I could easily sense who was now in the room with me. It was Serenity and Itachi. I had wondered when they would come in here.

"Mama... Please, you need to wake up. I don't think me and Papa could go on if you aren't around. I just was reunited with you, I can't lose you now." Serenity was sniffling and I could hear the sleepiness and fear in her voice. She was forcing herself to stay awake and to not break down all at once. It hurt my soul to hear her sound like that. "You'll wake up right now, right Mama? You won't let me think you're going to die, right?" Serenity held my hand and squeezed it tightly. "Please Mama! You need to wake up so you can take care of me again! I don't want to lose my Mama!" Serenity began to sob and released my hand, letting it fall off of the bed I was on. If I could have cried right then, I would have. It killed me to hear her talking like this. It killed me to hear her crying over me as well.

I was trying very hard to wake up, but the darkness was just too strong. Every inch I went, the darkness pulled me back a foot. I was in a losing battle. I just didn't have the strength to fight this.

"Serenity!" Itachi called out suddenly as I could hear little feet running away from me.

"Papa, if Mama won't wake up, then neither will I!" I wasn't sure what she was going to do, but I heard heavier footsteps following her down the hallway, meaning that Kisame must have been there as well outside of the door. Itachi didn't follow Serenity though, he just remained by my side.

"Adryn, your daughter is hurting right now and I'm not sure how to help her. I wish I could give her the strength to get through this, but without you, I'm not sure it'd do any good." Itachi then paused and reached out to grab my hand, the one that'd fallen off the bed. It held it in his strong hand tightly. "If I cant give her strength, then maybe I could give you some to wake up. I have a confession to make." Itachi then took a deep breath and began to speak once more. "Adryn, I lied when I told you how I felt about you. I realized it then, but couldn't tell you to your face, and I guess I still can't do that now. When they told me you were in a coma because you saved my life, it nearly killed me. I couldn't bare thinking that the woman I loved could die because she decided to save me. Sasuke is furious with me but also relieved that I am cured now. I can't blame him for being angry, after all, if I was awake before, I could have told you not to do this." Itachi paused and allowed my head to start spinning. He said, "the woman I loved". Does that mean he's in love with me? "I bet right now you are thinking about what I just said, and the answer is yes, Adryn, I am in love with you. I was... unsure of it before and worried that things would end badly this time as well, so I refused to admit it, even to myself. However, after seeing you laying lifelessly here, I knew I could hide it no further. I'm sure the others know as well. They can see far better than I can sometimes. I am in love with you Adryn, so please, for my sake, for Serenity's, Kisame's and everyone else's' who loves you sake, wake up."


End file.
